Re: Millennials Poll

If folks are interested, here’s a write-up we had done on modernizing the registration system… Modernize Voter Registration Experts agree that the single biggest barrier to voting is a shoddy voter registration system. Researchers at Harvard and MIT found that in both 2008 and 2012, millions of Americans tried to but were unable to vote because of problems relating to voter registration, and millions more thwarted by registration deadlines and residency requirements. The non-partisan Election Protection voter hotline consistently reports voter registration problems as the most prevalent. Moving toward more universal voter registration has the potential not only to resolve persistent barriers that thwart voters but also to significantly expand the electorate. According to Census data, more than one in four voting-eligible Americans—more than 50 million people—are not registered to vote. Among those who are registered, roughly 70% vote in midterm and 85-90% in presidential elections. (Overall eligible citizen turnout rates are 40% in midterms and 60% in presidential elections.) Modernizing the voter registration system could add up to 50 million unregistered citizens to the rolls, cheaply, conveniently, and accurately. Once a citizen is registered, she can be courted and mobilized to vote. All that is required is a simple shift in paradigm to one in which the government takes responsibility to ensure that the voter rolls are complete and accurate, drawing on modern database technology and government agency contacts. Under a modern voter registration system, every eligible citizen who consents would be seamlessly registered to vote whenever interacting with a government agency and her information would be securely transmitted electronically to election officials; her registration record would be automatically kept up to date and would move with her; and she would have failsafe opportunities to register to vote or to update her registration both online and at the polls on Election Day. Each of these policy components is currently in place and working successfully in multiple states, but no state has them all. Research by the Brennan Center and other institutions show that these reforms increase voter registration rates, improve list accuracy, and save millions. Legislation: The Voter Empowerment Act (Reps. Lewis, Hoyer, Clyburn, Conyers, and Brady, H.R. 12, and Sen. Gillibrand, S.123) is a broad Democratic voting reform bill introduced in 2012 and 2013 that had voter registration modernization as its centerpiece. This bill was not reintroduced in 2014. Sen. Gillibrand, and previously Rep. Lofgren, also introduced the Voter Registration Modernization Act (S. 2865) focusing exclusively on online registration. Political considerations: As noted, the public broadly supports modernizing voter registration and bringing our antiquated paper-based system into the 21st century. Portable registration in particular has overwhelming support. Voter registration modernization also has strong bipartisan support in the states (though not in Congress), especially among election officials. The bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration especially endorsed two components of the reform—online voter registration and electronic registration at the DMV and possibly other government agencies as well. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights has consistently included voter registration modernization among its top three voting priorities since 2010. And privacy advocates have signed off on voter registration modernization proposals so long as they have certain safeguards built in. In some of the millennial groups we did recently, we had several participants who said they haven’t used stamps or put anything in a mailbox for years. Agree with Teddy that universal online reg is good place to start. Very few concerns on that, but many more concerns about online voting across the electorate. I agree with that - though there are some security/fraud and some "big brother" type concerns that we would need to expect some blowback on. An easier place to start would be universal online voter registration - right now only 20-some-odd states allow online registration, with the rest requiring delivery of a paper form. What an anachronism - how many millennials do you know with easy access to a printer, envelopes, and stamps? On Tue, Feb 3, 2015 at 5:14 PM, Mandy Grunwald <gruncom@aol.com<mailto:gruncom@aol.com>> wrote: I think the millennial support for voting online is really interesting. Might make a good proposal for the campaign. Good counterpoint to all the roadblocks GOP is putting up to making voting harder. Mandy Grunwald Grunwald Communications 202 973-9400<tel:202%20973-9400> ----- KC Millennials Poll by some guy name Benenson but I have suspicions that Katie Connolly really did it. http://fusion.net/story/41972/fusion-poll-millennials-politics-hillary-clinton-jeb-bush-election-2016/ I can't remember if Robby or I already shared that President Clinton and Chelsea are joining today's meeting and looking forward to meeting all of you. Just to be sure you know. See you soon. -- P R E C I S I O N » www.precisionstrategies.com<http://www.precisionstrategies.com/>