Introduction
I voted for the first time in 2014, only a month after I had turned 18. I felt proud to be participating in our democracy and to be fulfilling my individual responsibility as a member of this country. However, I believe I only did so because I did not struggle with the hurdles that many others in Kansas face. The reason I am writing to you today is to address the impact these hurdles have on voter turnout and to propose a solution to this problem. As the Kansas Secretary of State, you are tasked with deciding the requirements that citizens must meet in order to vote in these elections. Some of these requirements, including shorter voter registration deadlines and stricter voter ID laws, were adopted by Kansas under the Secure and …show more content…
Other solutions have the capability to increase registration, however, automatic registration is more efficient than other solutions and would be easier to implement. For instance, one solution is the creation of an Election Day federal holiday. A holiday would allow more registered voters access to the ballot because they would not have to worry about taking time off work, however, total turnout would likely not increase as much because a holiday would not increase the number of citizens who are registered to vote. In addition, a federal holiday would have to be implemented at the national level, rather than the state level. Mandatory voting is another potential solution, however, history has proven that Americans do not like to be forced to do anything, so the implementation of this system would likely be met with backlash. More likely solutions would be repealing voter ID laws and implementing same-day registration. While these systems would likely work to increase registration and turnout, each only solves one part of the problem. In comparison, both sides of the problem is solved with automatic registration.
Adoption of an automatic registration system is not only beneficial to eligible Kansas voters, but also to you and your office. The Office of the Secretary of State of Kansas describes its purpose as the ability “provide the people of Kansas with economical, efficient, …show more content…
By better fulfilling your promises, you also would be increasing your re-electability. Most importantly, automatic registration would significantly increase the voter turnout rates in Kansas by removing many of the hurdles that arise during the voting process. Clearly, this system is the most cost-effective and provides the most benefits to both you and the citizens of Kansas. For these reasons, I ask you to consider this
I voted for the first time in 2014, only a month after I had turned 18. I felt proud to be participating in our democracy and to be fulfilling my individual responsibility as a member of this country. However, I believe I only did so because I did not struggle with the hurdles that many others in Kansas face. The reason I am writing to you today is to address the impact these hurdles have on voter turnout and to propose a solution to this problem. As the Kansas Secretary of State, you are tasked with deciding the requirements that citizens must meet in order to vote in these elections. Some of these requirements, including shorter voter registration deadlines and stricter voter ID laws, were adopted by Kansas under the Secure and …show more content…
Other solutions have the capability to increase registration, however, automatic registration is more efficient than other solutions and would be easier to implement. For instance, one solution is the creation of an Election Day federal holiday. A holiday would allow more registered voters access to the ballot because they would not have to worry about taking time off work, however, total turnout would likely not increase as much because a holiday would not increase the number of citizens who are registered to vote. In addition, a federal holiday would have to be implemented at the national level, rather than the state level. Mandatory voting is another potential solution, however, history has proven that Americans do not like to be forced to do anything, so the implementation of this system would likely be met with backlash. More likely solutions would be repealing voter ID laws and implementing same-day registration. While these systems would likely work to increase registration and turnout, each only solves one part of the problem. In comparison, both sides of the problem is solved with automatic registration.
Adoption of an automatic registration system is not only beneficial to eligible Kansas voters, but also to you and your office. The Office of the Secretary of State of Kansas describes its purpose as the ability “provide the people of Kansas with economical, efficient, …show more content…
By better fulfilling your promises, you also would be increasing your re-electability. Most importantly, automatic registration would significantly increase the voter turnout rates in Kansas by removing many of the hurdles that arise during the voting process. Clearly, this system is the most cost-effective and provides the most benefits to both you and the citizens of Kansas. For these reasons, I ask you to consider this