Guest Blog by State Rep. Jim Trujillo on Same Day Voter Registration

Update: HB 52 passed the NM House this afternoon by a vote of 40-27. It moves to the Senate next.
**********
Note: Contact your State Rep today on HB 52. The bill passed the House Voters and Election Committee yesterday on a 6-5 vote, and may be debated in the NM House as early as this afternoon. Please urge your Representative to vote in support of this critical bill. You can find your legislator and contact info here.

This is a guest blog by Rep. Jim Trujillo (D, 45-Santa Fe).

I'm sponsoring HB 52, Same Day Voter Registration, to provide greater access for every New Mexican to vote during early voting in the general election. The history of voter registration in this country has been a history of exclusion. Since the founding of our nation, the battle to include every American in the electoral process has been hard fought and this case is no exception.

Since the creation of our democracy, minorities and women were prohibited from voting. The turn of the 20th century witnessed the adoption of the 19th Amendment, which allowed women the right to vote in 1920. Less than 50 years ago, our nation was requiring polling and literacy taxes in an effort to exclude Americans from voting. In 1964, the United States terminated the polling tax, and, in 1965, enacted the Voting Rights Act to provide access to the polls for every American regardless of race or color.

As our country and state have grown, so too has our ability to expand voting access. In 2003, registration by mail and early voting were instituted in New Mexico and, as a result, the process has increased the numbers of New Mexicans who are not only registered to vote, but who actually do vote.

Same-day registration is another tool in expanding voter participation. It allows eligible and qualified voters to register to vote onElection Day statewide at every polling location. It has been successfully enacted in nine states -- Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

My wife works at the Santa Fe County Clerk's office so I know first-hand the challenges counties face implementing new election requirements and programs. In response, I made sure that HB 52 implements same day registration only during early voting in the general election so there are no additional administration costs to counties.

Research shows that by implementing same day voter registration, voter participation would increase in New Mexico by 5.6 percent, mainly with younger voters and working New Mexicans. That's good news. By making it easier for New Mexicans to vote, we allow for everyone's voice to be heard.

Unfortunately, the same thinking that opposed access to voting throughout our country's history is again opposing this effort. Recently, opponents have launched a series of misleading television ads attempting to scare voters into believing that in order to expand democracy to everyone, we will have to sacrifice integrity. That's simply not the case. Recent studies of 12 states have shown that the incidence of voter fraud is low and, moreover, my bill requires voter identification.

I'm a proud champion of expanding access to the polls for every New Mexican because it's the right thing to do. Our country has struggled over the past two hundred years to guarantee everyone the right to vote and it's our responsibility to provide every opportunity for New Mexicans to participate in democracy.

This is a guest blog by Rep. Jim Trujillo of Santa Fe. If you'd like to submit a piece for consideration as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link at the upper left-hand corner of the page.