Expand right to vote in N.J.
By Analilia Mejia and Nancy Hedinger Aug. 18 marks the 95th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It took the women's rights movement 70 years to prevail, but it almost didn't. In Tennessee, State Rep. Harry Burn had planned to vote against the amendment until he was persuaded otherwise by a note from his mother. "I know that a mother's advice is always safest for her boy to follow," he said later.
By Analilia Mejia
and Nancy Hedinger
Aug. 18 marks the 95th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It took the women's rights movement 70 years to prevail, but it almost didn't. In Tennessee, State Rep. Harry Burn had planned to vote against the amendment until he was persuaded otherwise by a note from his mother. "I know that a mother's advice is always safest for her boy to follow," he said later.
Despite that hard-won victory, too many women still lack full access to the ballot box because of outdated voting rules that don't take into account modern lives, families, or technology. In New Jersey, narrow windows and high barriers to voter participation fall especially hard on women who must balance one or more jobs with family responsibilities.
New Jersey's voter participation rates are at record lows. The state ranks 39th in the nation in voter participation, and a staggering 1.6 million qualified New Jerseyans aren't registered to vote.
This can change. New Jersey can lead the fight for voting rights. In June, the state Legislature passed the Democracy Act, which would bring our state's voting laws into the 21st century with commonsense reforms that have been proven to increase voter turnout in other states.
The Democracy Act would institute in-person early voting, giving women who work and/or care for their children and families more flexible access to the polls, including on weekends.
In addition, the act would implement automatic voter registration in New Jersey. Any time a resident qualified to vote goes to the Motor Vehicle Commission to apply for or renew a driver's license, he or she would be automatically registered to vote. This provision would make it less likely that voters are disenfranchised due to registration errors and would reduce a barrier to participating in our democracy.
Oregon has already blazed a trail on automatic registration, and other states have passed early voting and online registration with bipartisan support. At least 27 other states and the District of Columbia currently offer online voter registration or will do so soon. Importantly, online voter registration states report a significant savings in per-registration costs.
Though the Democracy Act would expand voting rights for hundreds of thousands of women and make our voting rules fairer and more efficient, Gov. Christie's public statements on the bill have been disappointing. He should be aware that none of the act's provisions are likely to increase voter fraud, and many would increase the accuracy of our voting rolls.
Nearly a century ago, Harry Burn's mother changed the course of history and helped secure the right to vote for millions of women. Now New Jersey women should implore Christie to follow Burn's example and sign a law that would benefit voters and our democracy.
Nancy Hedinger is president of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey.