The Daily Bruin endorses Proposition 52, which would allow
eligible voters with legitimate identification to register at their
polling place in the days leading up to and including election
day.
As California law now stands, the deadline to register to vote
is 15 days before an election. Absentee voters must apply for their
ballots at least 7 days before.
Proposition 52 will help streamline the registration process and
raise the abysmally low voter turnout, particularly among
college-aged students. Often, students have hectic schedules and
frequent address changes which hinder timely registration for local
elections.
Voter turnout among the young is low regardless of college
status, though. During the 1998 gubernatorial election, for
example, only 17 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds voted. Proposition
52’s simplification of the voting process will help reverse
this upsetting trend.
Opponents of the initiative argue Proposition 52 would make
committing voter fraud easier. If passed, it would require a valid
California driver’s license or two other forms of
identification, including a credit card bill, utility bill or
vehicle registration. Some view these requirements as too lenient,
allowing people to forge documents and commit voter fraud.
But the initiative itself safeguards against fraud by increasing
the penalties imposed and by making conspiracy to commit fraud a
felony. This gives law enforcement agencies considerable punitive
authority, which they can use to deter voter fraud.
A democratic society should make voting as easy as possible, and
invest in deterring voter fraud rather than seeking convenient
answers that disenfranchise people. Proposition 52 ensures all
eligible California citizens have an opportunity to exercise their
constitutional right to vote.