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Voter Registrants “Irk Clerks”
If you have been on State St. at all this summer you’ve been approached by the New Voters Project. It’s impossible to avoid them, seeing as they’ve been registering voters in bars, on the street, in restaurants, coffeeshops, parks, you name it.
Recently the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal ran an article about how many of the registrations they’ve acquired don’t have the identification information on them required by the state (a valid license or state ID # or the last four digits of your Social Security #). As a result, municipal clerks have to send out letters to the voter asking them to provide the information or the registration won’t be valid on election day and the voter will have to re-register at the polls.
Two thoughts.
First, the NVP should get it as right as possible and get that information if they can. After all, very few people aren’t carrying their license or don’t know their social security number (or don’t have either). So they should really try to get that information right off the bat.
Second, as someone who organized a GOTV effort in Milwaukee this summer, clerks are, on a whole, just like many other bureaucrats, frustrated when extra work comes their way.
If every four years the clerks of this state have a tough time registering all these voters, to that I say, do your job! My god, maybe it is a little more expensive and time consuming, but hey, the democratic process isn’t a piece of cake! Budget the extra money, do whatever it takes, but get those people registered!
Whiny bureaucrats and good hearted, but incomplete civic do-gooders….ah, election year fun!
-=Rob Deters=-
Comments on “Voter Registrants “Irk Clerks””
Adam Smith:
I agree with you that the New Voters Project and other such programs are a positive part of the Democratic process and that we should be doing everything we can to get as many people as possible to vote. I don't see why its to much to ask the Reps to get all the information that is needed. Wouldn't it make more sense, just in terms of efficiency that all information is collected in one place? If you're goal is to increase the number of people registered to vote it seems a little silly to not take the little extra effort requred to register them properly rather than putting an unnecessary strain on the system. Ultimetly the clerks are responsible to make sure they properly register everyone to vote who wants to be but I can empathise with their position. It takes alot of effort to go an contact people who are improperly registered where as it is assinine for the NVP reps to not just get all the date in the first place. Additionaly, its pretty easy to just show up and vote in Wisconsin so all the NVP really needs to do is get people to agree to go vote and bring ID with them. Registering people on the street and then making the state contact them for ID info is alot more of a hassle for everyone involved than just telling people to show up at the polling place on election day.
September 2, 2004 01:00 PM