As has been the case in recent Legislatures, a bill that would allow for Election-Day voter registration has stalled.
HB287 by Rep. Neil Hansen, D-Ogden, failed to make it out of a House committee Monday morning in a tie 5-5 vote. Similar bills by Hansen have died previously.
Hansen said seven other states, including Idaho and Wyoming, allow Election-Day voter registration at the polls. And those casting ballots have risen by 10 percentage points in all voter age categories.
Hansen said in 2006 elections, his District 9 had the worst voter turnout of any of the 75 House districts. That's because people are moving in and out of his central Ogden district "all the time."
But Republicans on the committee worried that a voter could cast a ballot in his new district — after registering at the polling place — and then go back to his old voting district and cast another ballot.
Both nationally and locally, Republican officeholders have balked at Election-Day voter registration, fearing fraud. While Hansen said the seven states that allow it today haven't seen any increase in voter fraud, a GOP bloc voted against his bill, keeping it in the committee.