Many city and town clerks have objected to a proposal that would allow voters to register on election day. And at least for now, they won't have to worry about it as the House did not vote on the measure before its session ended late last week.
The legislation would have phased in same-day registration, requiring the registrar's office in each city and town to register voters during the general election polling hours this year, and requiring all polling places to offer same-day registration in 2010.
Dedham Town Clerk Paul Munchbach said that he didn't think the bill would increase voter turnout in local towns and that it would be difficult to put in place in larger cities such as Boston.
``I'm not against the fact that people should have the ability to vote, but we have a mechanism in place that seems to work,'' he said. ``If they were going to institute this, they should have done it a year ago and given us time to train our polling staff. ... It should have been instituted in an off year.''
Under current election law, voters can register to vote up to 20 days before any election.
Munchbach also worried that the measure would lead to increased voter fraud, even though voters who register on election day must present proof of residence such as a license, paycheck or utility bill.
``You (could) come in to register at this town (on election day) and then register somewhere else where you still maintain a residence and you could be voting twice,'' he said.
Earlier this month the Massachusetts Town Clerks Association sent a letter to state Senate President Therese Murray estimating that the proposal could cost a total of up to $5 million, a figure that Secretary of State William Galvin called inaccurate and misleading.
In his own letter to the Senate, Galvin estimated that the cost of printing additional ballots, distributing new forms and training poll workers would be about $500,000.
Galvin supports the Senate legislation and believes that cities and towns would have enough time to prepare for the 2008 presidential election, his spokesman Brian McNiff said yesterday.
On Tuesday the Senate passed the bill, which does not apply to special or municipal elections, over GOP members' objections.
``The constitutional right to vote ought to be as easy and accessible as possible,'' said state Sen. Edward Augustus, D-Worcester, one of the bill's sponsors, according to the State House News Service.
``First of all, I have great faith in the clerks of Massachusetts that they can do what seven other states are doing,'' he said, during Senate debate this week. ``There is not chaos in Minnesota, Wisconsin or Maine. I believe our clerks are as talented as clerks in those other states.''
Daily News staff writer Lindsey Parietti can be reached at lindsey.parietti@cnc.com.
Many city and town clerks have objected to a proposal that would allow voters to register on election day. And at least for now, they won't have to worry about it as the House did not vote on the measure before its session ended late last week.
The legislation would have phased in same-day registration, requiring the registrar's office in each city and town to register voters during the general election polling hours this year, and requiring all polling places to offer same-day registration in 2010.
Dedham Town Clerk Paul Munchbach said that he didn't think the bill would increase voter turnout in local towns and that it would be difficult to put in place in larger cities such as Boston.
``I'm not against the fact that people should have the ability to vote, but we have a mechanism in place that seems to work,'' he said. ``If they were going to institute this, they should have done it a year ago and given us time to train our polling staff. ... It should have been instituted in an off year.''
Under current election law, voters can register to vote up to 20 days before any election.
Munchbach also worried that the measure would lead to increased voter fraud, even though voters who register on election day must present proof of residence such as a license, paycheck or utility bill.
``You (could) come in to register at this town (on election day) and then register somewhere else where you still maintain a residence and you could be voting twice,'' he said.
Earlier this month the Massachusetts Town Clerks Association sent a letter to state Senate President Therese Murray estimating that the proposal could cost a total of up to $5 million, a figure that Secretary of State William Galvin called inaccurate and misleading.
In his own letter to the Senate, Galvin estimated that the cost of printing additional ballots, distributing new forms and training poll workers would be about $500,000.
Galvin supports the Senate legislation and believes that cities and towns would have enough time to prepare for the 2008 presidential election, his spokesman Brian McNiff said yesterday.
On Tuesday the Senate passed the bill, which does not apply to special or municipal elections, over GOP members' objections.
``The constitutional right to vote ought to be as easy and accessible as possible,'' said state Sen. Edward Augustus, D-Worcester, one of the bill's sponsors, according to the State House News Service.
``First of all, I have great faith in the clerks of Massachusetts that they can do what seven other states are doing,'' he said, during Senate debate this week. ``There is not chaos in Minnesota, Wisconsin or Maine. I believe our clerks are as talented as clerks in those other states.''
Daily News staff writer Lindsey Parietti can be reached at lindsey.parietti@cnc.com.
