Clerks share thoughts on same-day voter registration bill

Date: 3/2/2022

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Supporters of allowing people to register and vote on Election Day in Massachusetts are casting the measure as a “common sense” compromise lawmakers can include in an omnibus voting reform bill currently under consideration on Beacon Hill.

Local municipal clerks had varied opinions on the proposal.

“I support Election Day voting registration over same-day,” said West Springfield Town Clerk Otto Frizzell. “It maintains the deadline to register 20 days before, but is able to register and vote the day of. It eliminates the cutoff.”

He said it would “complicate” the voting process to have the voter registration list constantly changing in the days leading up to Election Day.

“From my perspective, it’s valuable for us to make a static list,” he said.

The state House and Senate have both passed versions of a law called the VOTES Act, but they differ on voter registration reform. The Senate version would allow same-day registration throughout the election — including during early voting, a two-week window before Election Day itself. The House version makes no change to the existing law, which cuts off new registrations 20 days before Election Day, though it does ask the Secretary of State to study the matter and report on the potential costs.

Karen Fanion, Westfield’s city clerk, said she only supports same-day and Election Day voter registration with modifications, such as having those who register at the polls cast provisional ballots. She said she couldn’t yet estimate how much it would cost her office to implement same-day or Election Day registration.

“I think we would have to go through a cycle to see how many, if any, extra workers would be needed to meet the needs,” she said.

Agawam Town Clerk Vincent Gioscia said he hasn’t had time to review the proposed state legislation.
“I try to remain as apolitical as possible,” said Gioscia. “I follow the law.”

Frizzell said switching to same-day registration would increase the complexity of his office’s work during election season, but the cost would likely be nominal. The town already hires staff to assist with voting, and Frizzell said they could cross-check voters, though it could mean working more hours.

Frizzell believes Election Day registration presents similar challenges with staff needing to answer phones, although the “complexity would not be as much of a burden.”

When voters register the same day, Frizzell said, they are entered into a state voter database. He said he has no fear of fraud, though with an added layer of data, there is the added task of making sure the lists used by poll workers are synced to the latest state database.

At a Feb. 14 press conference outside the State House, members of the Election Modernization Coalition — a group that includes Common Cause Massachusetts, MassVOTE and ACLU Massachusetts — said Election Day registration would increase voter turnout in communities of color.

“There are people that live in deep poverty that are working two or three jobs, that are moving a lot because of housing instability, and other reasons, health reasons, their registration lapses,” state Rep. Nika Elugardo said. “This is an equity provision because it makes it possible for all of those people to vote.”

The Election Day or same-day registration reforms are among the matters that a six-member conference committee negotiating House and Senate versions of the voting reform bill will have to work out. The committee includes state Reps. Michael Moran, Dan Ryan and Shawn Dooley, and state Sens. Barry Finegold, Cynthia Creem and Ryan Fattman.

The House passed its iteration of the VOTES Act on Jan. 27. The Senate voted 36-3 in October to pass a voting reform bill that includes same-day registration.

For Common Cause Executive Director Geoff Foster, provisions in both bills, like voting by mail, early voting, and jail-based voting are “very strong,” but more is needed to make voting equitable for all residents.

“We know that the real game-changer, the real equity piece, the heart of the VOTES Act is Election Day registration,” Foster said. “We’re here today to make a very direct ask for the conferees from the House and Senate who are working on the VOTES Act, that they restore a compromise of Election Day registration into the final bill.”

Chris Van Buskirk of the State House News Service contributed to this report.