why do we even have to REGISTER to vote in the first place?

[toddzilla]

we all have a social security #.. isn't that enough?

[elfwitch]

1. good point

Seems like an extra step that just makes it harder for people to do what they should be doing.

[Walt Starr]

2. The Social Security number was never intended to be an identification

device under SS regulations.

[Worst Username Ever]

3. So they know we did not vote more than once

The reason we do not use SSN is because the SSN was NEVER supposed to become an national ID number. That was one of the huge reasons people opposed social security, because all US citizens would be assigned a number. I suppose maybe times have changed, and we could easily switch to that.

[TrogL]

4. So you want people to wander from poll to poll?

"Vote early - vote often"

[NMDemDist2]

5. nowadays kids get a SSN almost at birth (for tax purposes)

We register voters so we know what Dist they are in and can send the correct info for their community

:shrug:

[toddzilla]

7. so you show your driv. license or ID card, and it gets cross checked ...

millions of credit card transactions a day happen, and we can't manage a system that will check out a citizen's ID to verify a single vote?

[sleepystudent]

6. Everyone has a social security number...

including foreign students and foreign workers who are just here for a few years. Voting should be limited to citizens. Also, voting fraud is enough of a problem already and registration can help trace some voting fraud. Registration also allows you to see voting patterns and help campaigns tailor their approach. I think it is already easy enough to register to vote and maybe with Internet voting it will get easier to vote and people that complain that it should be made even easier get on my nerves. I get tired of the democratic process having to be modified all the time to accomodate American laziness. If some people are complaining about how difficult it is to just get a little card at the library or the driver's licence office or at a school, I shudder to think how they make decisions on who to vote for.

[asthmaticeog]

8. Logistics.

Voting is done in neighborhood precincts. The precinct volunteers aren't connected to a database yet, so we need to sign off when we recieve our ballots to ensure that no-one votes more than once. If it were by SSN alone, there'd be no way to confirm you hadn't already voted elsewhere - the point of registering is so you can be assigned a precinct where your name is on a list, and you can't vote anywhere else (except by absentee ballot). That's unlikely to change - states and counties don't have the resources to have a database terminal in every polling place so that SSNs can be used to track whether one has already voted somewhere.

[rock]

9. Well, it really is just administrative in nature

By registering beforehand, any checking can be done before the election thus shortening the time to get the results. Also, of course, it allows them prepare lists. If you're not on the list but claim to be a legitimate voter, they're supposed to accept your ballot and place it aside. If the vote is close, they can then do the research to see if they will count it. So all in all it seems right to me.