Nebraskans could register to vote on Election Day, under a law proposed by Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln.

Bill would let voters register on Election Day

ANNA JO BRATTON / The Associated Press | Posted: Friday, January 9, 2009 12:00 am

Nebraskans could register to vote on Election Day, under a law proposed Friday by Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln.

Avery said his bill (LB125) would make voting easier, especially for college students who often have permanent homes in other counties or states and “whose lives are pretty chaotic anyway.’’

Nine states — Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Wyoming — have similar registration laws. North Dakota has no voter registration requirement.

Nebraska election officials, including Secretary of State John Gale, opposed a similar measure last year, and it didn’t make it past the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. Avery is chairman of that committee this year.

Douglas County Election Commissioner Dave Phipps, who oversees elections in Nebraska’s most populous county, said the bill could cause huge headaches.

It would let people register at the election commissioner’s office, county clerk’s office or at polling places.

Poll workers are already busy enough on Election Day, Phipps said, and same-day registration could hold up the line.

“It’s a lot of strain on election workers,’’ Phipps said.

The deadline to register for last year’s Nov. 4 election was Oct. 24.

Phipps testified before the committee about the idea last year. He suggested that if senators were determined to pass the law, they should allow Election Day registration only at election offices. The would-be voters have to bring photo IDs or pieces of official mail such as a utility bills or bank statements with the names and addresses of the voters.

In Douglas County, excitement bubbled over last year about a battle for the electoral vote tied to the 2nd Congressional District. Democrat Barack Obama had paid workers recruiting new voters to go to the polls, and Republican volunteers canvassed for Republican John McCain.

Phipps said that in the four weeks leading up to the election, his office registered or changed the registration of about 35,000 people.

Lines formed outside the Douglas County Election office in the days leading up to the cutoff, and workers stayed late on Oct. 24 to get everyone on the books.

Allowing Election Day registration “would have relieved that line, but it would have caused lines on Election Day,’’ Phipps said. “You have to have a cutoff.’’

Obama won the electoral vote. It was the first time in history Nebraska has employed its unusual system of splitting its five votes.

Last year, college students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln testified before the legislative committee, telling senators that some students would be more likely to vote if the law were changed.

Some studies have shown that states allowing Election Day registration have a higher voter turnout.