Election Day Registration

Election Day Registration (EDR), also known as “same-day voter registration,” permits eligible citizens to register and vote on Election Day. Election Day Registration has many advantages, including higher-than-average voter turnout, few reported problems with fraud, and enhanced citizen’s participation in our democratic process - all with insignificant changes in costs, or administrative difficulty.

Learn more about the Advantages of Election Day Registration

(This issue paper was created by the National Network for Election Reform, the largest national coalition dedicated to improving election administration at the federal, state and local level.)

Recent News

April 3, 2007: Today, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver signed an Election Day Registration bill, applicable to elections on or after January 1, 2008. EDR allows eligible voters who are unregistered to cast a ballot on Election Day. The bill also provides for Election Day absentee voting registration. Iowa is the eighth state in the nation to implement EDR. The others are Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Maine and Idaho.

In addition to Iowa, 21 states have considered EDR proposals during the 2006 legislative sessions. Several of those states, including Hawaii, Washington, North Carolina and Connecticut, are on the verge of adopting a version of EDR this year. Congressional lawmakers have also included a nationwide EDR provision in the Count Every Vote Act reintroduced this year.

Voters must complete a voter registration form, provide proof of residency in their precinct and show photo identification. Current law requires voters to register 10 days before primary and general elections and 11 days before other elections.

Read the bill here.