House Democrats Propose Making Universities ‘Voter Registration Agencies,’ Allowing Same-Day Voter Registration

[Geee]

CNSnews:

(CNSNews.com) – House Democrats introduced “comprehensive” voting rights legislation last week, which, among other things, would transform colleges into voter registration sites and allow for same-day registration.

In response to the voter identification laws that have sprung up throughout the country, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) introduced the “Voter Empowerment Act of 2012” (VEA) on May 17.

Though the legislation (H.R. 5799) does not deal with voter ID laws directly, it seeks to broaden access to the polls and “address the unprecedented efforts to turn back the clock and erect barriers to voting.”

Democrats are billing H.R. 5799 as “comprehensive voting rights legislation.” Section 1301 of the bill would expand the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which required state agencies like Department of Motor Vehicle offices (DMV’s) to provide voter registration, to every college or university that receives federal funding, treating them as “Voter Registration Agencies.”

“With a pivotal presidential election just six months away, we must do all we can to ensure free and fair elections and that everyone can vote,” said House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) in a fact sheet on the bill, Thursday.