America has been using paper-based voter registration system ever since the 19Th century. In the past, national election results have been plagued with inaccuracies and errors such that there is a need to create reforms in the voting system. Many eligible voters have also been locked out of voting during national elections because of problems related with the current paper- based elections. With the current technological advancements across the globe, the voter registration can be transformed into a more reliable system. Already, some states have ventured into the technologically innovative electoral process but others are still using the paper- based registration. The use of technology in election- related processes has been received positively by most people regardless of their party affiliations. The reforms can be used to prevent the occurrences of fraud, and also increase efficiency of the electoral process. The transition can be said to be a positive development since it will be a way of strengthening the American’s democracy through efficiency and reliability of the electoral system.
Reforming the registration process to make it an automated process
The reform that can be imposed in the electoral process is the use of automatic voter registration and online registration in all the States of America. The approach that should be used must have a way of accessing the databases of the eligible voters in the country. The databases can be taken from sources that contain details of all state residents recognized as eligible citizens of America. Such official records can be derived from the income tax departments where all the databases of the people who file tax returns are stored.
People have been registered for filing tax returns regardless of whether they are high- income earners or low- income earners. The people who live below poverty line have been registered for food stamps meaning that their details are also recorded in state databases. These recorded details can easily be transferred to the election authorities in order to replace the cumbersome paper- based registration. Automated registration will ensure that state election authorities register all eligible citizens through the transfer of official details pertaining to each citizen from various government and state departments such as the tax returns department, Departments of Motor Vehicle or Social security Numbers. Once the citizen’s details are put into the electoral automated systems, the information becomes portable as long as he/she resides in that particular state. The voters who have been registered also can be in a position to correct any errors discovered before or on the election’s day. The modernized voter registration can be done online whereby voters may register and update their details through a secure registration portal.
Current system of Paper- based registration and its drawbacks
Currently, voter registration in American has been paper- based registration in most of the states. Although some states such as Washington have attempted to modernize their voting processes, others are still lagging behind and still using the paper- based registration. In the paper- based registration, the voter is issued with a form to fill in the details and then cards are produced and mailed to the voters. Before mailing the cards, they are checked to ensure that they contain a laminating covering, the voter’s fingerprints, voter’s photograph, voter’s signature and a corresponding voter identification number. The voter is supposed to carry this card to the election field so as to cast a vote. The production of these paper- based forms is quite costly and any necessary updating of the form is also expensive. This is because of the effort and time taken to do the manual production and editing is quite a lot.
These high costs are usually met by either the government or the voters or both. When the voter bores the costs, it clearly shows in the number of registered voters since the number decreases due to less number of eligible people receiving a card. The other problem that comes with the use of these cards is that they are easily stolen or lost. Just like any other physical thing, the forms may land in the wrong hands or even the voter may place it somewhere and totally forget where he or she kept it. The other issue is that the work of producing these cards is cumbersome and a high number of administrative structures must be put in place to produce the cards. The current system requires that for the voter registration form to be filled, the voter must swear an affidavit to accept that he or she is citizen and has resided in the state for a period of 30 days and above. This system only allows registered voters to edit and update their details only before the election date but not on the election date. The paper forms are usually full of inconsistencies and errors such that they offer opportunities for fraud. This shows that many of eligible voters may be locked out of the voting process if their cards are discovered to have a slight problem on the Election Day. Also the current system has not succeeded in being up- to- date concerning voters’ information. In some cases, reports show that some voters registered in the system are deceased; millions of eligible voters were not recorded on the voters’ roll while others are registered in several states.
How the automated system will fix the drawbacks of paper- based registration
Considering the stated problems that are associated with the current voter registration system, it is worth bringing reforms in the electoral process by the use of automated voter registration in all the states. Automation of the registration process can fix most of the stated problems associated with the paper- based registration. The modernized system of voter registration brings significant benefits for the government and the voters in several ways.
Based on the outcomes of automation of voter registration in various states such as Arizona and Washington, one can say that the new system would be cost effective. Arizona and Washington implemented the automated system (automated voter registration at Department of Motor Vehicle and online voter registration) that cost them less than $130,000 and $279,000 respectively. In Delaware, the DMV’s registration saves approximately $200, 000 each year on personnel costs. Reports show that Arizona spends 33¢ in manual processing of electronic applications while for a partially automated review process uses about 3¢. However, the same report shows that the county spends 83¢ for paper- based registration forms. Furthermore, an automated registration is offers a great accuracy level and is also more reliable than the paper-based process. This is because it produces fewer errors and the opportunities for fraud are kept at minimum levels. A survey done in 2009 in the county of Arizona showed that the automated system had reduced the incompleteness and incorrectness of registrations by five times as compared to the paper- based registration. The automated system can increase the voter registration rates in the country as was witnessed in Washington and Kansas whereby the number of voters almost doubled. Due to the modernization of the system, Arizona witnessed an increase in registration for young people between the age of 18 and 24. This is because young people like associating with modernized processes.
Automation of the registration process in all the states would strengthen and enhance democracy since every eligible person would get a chance to exercise his or her right to vote in national elections. Also the whole country would enjoy seeing the results of a free, fair and efficient election. Online voter registration also helps people to easily and conveniently access the electoral portal where they can register or update their information. It also eliminates the need for excessive clerical work during elections that results in demanding a lot of time, effort and money for the officials. Unprocessed backlog would reduce significantly in all states since most voters have been complaining of registration obstacles that arise from paper- based registration ending up in chaotic polling stations and long queues. The modernization of the electoral process would eventually lead to a permanent registration of eligible unregistered voters, offer Election Day corrections and create a good atmosphere for election officials during per- election preparations.
Side Effects of implementing the reform
The only side effect is that for the automated registration system to be effective, the persons involved must be literate enough to understand the technological advancements. The online registration requires that the person understands how to access the electoral portal and fill in the details as required. This cannot be a set back as such since nowadays most people are technologically knowledgeable. The result would be smoothly-run elections and voters’ confidence of free and fair elections while giving all eligible citizens a chance to exercise their right to vote.
Conclusion
The reform of automating the voters’ registration process is intended to streamline the electoral body while eliminating the many draw backs that the current paper-based system already has. It is a positive developmental aspect since it will strengthen the democracy of the country. Democracy will be achieved since the number of eligible voters who had been locked out of voting due to voter- registration related problems will now be in a position to vote. This will enable each eligible citizen to exercise their right to participate in national elections as the Constitution demands.
Bibliography
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