Editorial: With election reforms stalled on Beacon Hill, some would-be voters are left out – By The Editorial Board (Boston Globe) / Aug 31 2021
Only a permanent fix to state election laws and same-day registration will solve the problem.
One of the most interesting — and potentially transformative — Boston elections is just around the Labor Day corner. But for those who may have newly arrived in town or those just awaking to the reality of the hottest of mayoral races but didn’t register to vote by last week’s deadline, well, they’ll have to sit this one out. (Those wanting to vote in the Nov. 2 final will have until Oct. 13 to register.)
That long lead time is as unfortunate as it is unnecessary. Election Day voter registration is no longer some pie-in-the-sky radical idea — technological advances have helped make it not only possible but also nearly foolproof. And if the Massachusetts Legislature didn’t work at its usual glacial pace, it could have already been the law here.
Not another election cycle should go by before Massachusetts joins 20 other states and the District of Columbia in offering Election Day registration. But that’s only one of several essential election reforms awaiting passage when lawmakers return from their summer recess.
The pandemic provided the impetus for state lawmakers to finally enact a slew of long-overdue election reforms in time for the 2020 presidential election, including no-excuse mail-in voting and extending early voting for primary elections. If ever there was a pilot program for election reform, that was it. Nearly half of all voters cast mail-in ballots for the primary, 42 percent voted by mail in the general election, and 23 percent cast early in-person votes.
