Talk:Voter registration in the United States

Proposed merge with Voter registration campaign

If someone is willing to expand Voter registration campaign – fine. But otherwise I'd suggest merging it into Voter registration in the United States#Voter registration drives, as the former currently seems too sparse and too weak for a stand-alone article. PanchoS (talk) 22:50, 6 April 2016 (UTC)

I disagree. The Voter registration campaign article is a simple stub, but its scope covers voter registration campaigns across the world, and an expansion would probably give more non-American examples. This article is solely focused on the United States, so is not an appropriate target for a merge. However, you could alternatively merge that article to the more generic Voter registration, which has a similar global scope. QueenCake (talk) 22:07, 16 May 2016 (UTC)

Automatic Voter Registration

Can someone add New Jersey to the map (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/4/20/1758772/-Voting-Rights-Roundup-New-Jersey-just-passed-automatic-voter-registration-These-states-could-too and http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/383597-new-jersey-governor-signs-automatic-voter-registration-bill) and could someone add Vermont to the table as it appears on the map and not the table - thanks Guyb123321 (talk) 00:58, 23 April 2018 (UTC)

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures there are now 14 states that have AVR. http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/automatic-voter-registration.aspx -- sion8 ^{talk page} 03:04, 12 August 2018 (UTC)

Party Affiliation

Not a US citizen: So what's this about having to register your party affiliation. Is it not a secret ballot in the US? This page Secret_ballot#United_States says it's secret. So can you clarify how it works? 194.207.86.26 (talk) 19:52, 10 September 2018 (UTC)

This page is for discussing edits to this article or other issues with the article. If you just want to ask a general question, the Reference Desk is better suited for it. That said, party registration usually determines which party's primary election you can vote in, or at least helps the parties know who its members are. It is all a secret ballot. 331dot (talk) 20:00, 10 September 2018 (UTC)

The article has a section on party affiliation, but no explanation. I also came here looking of an explanation of the US party affiliation system. Is this covered an another article? If so, this article should link to it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.155.73.34 (talk) 22:39, 4 February 2020 (UTC)

Actually the question is legitimate as the article does not provide any background information about the history and reason for registering party affiliation. Not signed... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.89.248.64 (talk) 09:46, 16 October 2020 (UTC)

Voter registration campaign listed at Redirects for discussion

An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect Voter registration campaign. Please participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. Abote2 (talk) 11:42, 18 May 2019 (UTC)

Why is voter registration even necessary?

I read this article to try and understand something that, as it seems, is not explained here: what's the rationale behind requiring voter registration at all? I mean, why isn't it enough to just show your ID card, which, I assume, is required by law to have your correct address? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 158.181.74.153 (talk) 17:15, 24 October 2020 (UTC)

One answer is that North Dakota does not require registration for state or federal elections, so it can be dispensed with. I don't know what measures North Dakota uses to assure that the people who present themselves at the polling places are actually eligible to vote.

There are issues with ID. For one thing, citizens have a right to vote; failure to recognize this right is tyranny. People are not obliged to obtain id cards unless they wish to exercise some privilege that requires an ID card, such as driving a car. Voting is different from driving because voting is a right while driving is a privilege.

Also, as soon as people move, the are eligible to vote in the new location. The exception would be when a person moves after the deadline to register to vote in the new location, but before the election. It can often take longer than that to get a new ID. For example, to get a new REAL ID driver license, a person might need to mail an order form for a birth certificate to the state where see was born and wait for the certificate to arrive, and then go to the DMV to get the new license. This could easily take 30 days.

Another consideration is that an ID may not show the address of the holder's residence. Some people who have been victims of domestic violence enroll in a safe-at-home program which provides an alternate mailing address. The US passport and US passport card are widely accepted IDs. The passport card does not show the holder's address. The passport has a place for the address, but it is entered in pencil by the holder, and the holder updates it as necessary by erasing the old address and filling in the new address. Jc3s5h (talk) 17:52, 24 October 2020 (UTC)

Oklahoma Voter Registration changes

Oklahoma has finally launched an online registration option. News here: https://oklahoma.gov/elections/newsroom/2023/july/state-election-board-launches-online-voter-registration.html

Link to register: https://okvoterportal.okelections.us/Home/RegWizard

Can anyone update the map to erase "to be implemented?" 64.137.186.24 (talk) 23:06, 14 September 2023 (UTC)

Please explain "Registered voter"

As with previous editors on this page, I am not a US citizen and came here to understand the significance of "registered voters", which seems to have something to do with party affiliation. Can someone please expand the article, as previously requested?

Also, the "Party affiliation" section badly needs updating, especially "Deadline to re-register with a party for a primary election" which talks about the 2020 Presidential election and is a mess.

Thanks. Masato.harada (talk) 10:05, 16 September 2024 (UTC)

Voter registration laws vary from state to state. North Dakota does not require voter registration, the rest do. It is a system to keep track of who is entitled to vote. I suppose the reason it is a separate system is there is no national ID card, nor is there any ID card that residents of any state must obtain. The widely used type of ID card was a state driver license, but not everyone drives.

Parties are private not-for-profit organizations that are regulated by the state and national governments. Being a member of a party is optional. Some states, like New York, require one to register with a party in order to vote in that party's primary election.

Others, like Vermont, do not provide an opportunity to register with a party. During a primary election, the voter votes one party ballot, whichever one they want on that occasion. For presidential primaries Vermont keeps track of which ballot each voter chose, to help parties manage their affairs, such as selecting delegates to conventions.

I haven't had a chance to pore through the article, but I suspect it needs to be shortened and clarified, rather than expanded. Jc3s5h (talk) 17:35, 16 September 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for that. I appreciate that voter registration is often required to be able to vote; this is common in many countries. My question is about party affiliation and voter registration. We often read about surveys of the mood or the voting intentions of "registered Democrats" or "registered Republicans" or "independents". The article should address what these terms mean. Masato.harada (talk) 17:20, 18 September 2024 (UTC)

Superfluous map

Any objection to dismissing the large map at the top of the article that only identifies North Dakota as not requiring voter reg? Seems like a lot of page real estate for a point well enough made in the text. Gowser (talk) 21:16, 19 September 2024 (UTC)

No objection here - at the very least it should be shrunk quite a bit Superb Owl (talk) 21:36, 19 September 2024 (UTC)

Thanks, removed Gowser (talk) 10:39, 20 September 2024 (UTC)