Why America needs automatic voter registration

[@Vox]

Additional context on voter eligibility: While most states do not allow felons to vote, some states do allow parolees or those on probation to vote. Find out more about felony disenfranchisement laws: www.aclu.org/issues/voting-rights/voter-restoration/felony-disenfranchisement-laws-map

[@jellybrown]

It’s unfair to put Belgium and Australia in your statistics because voting is compulsory there.

[@EA-hi5vb]

you guys have a typo - minute 3:03, your wrote "Brennan Center for Justuce." thanks

[@EA-hi5vb]

also, it's Implemented, not implimented. same place

[@ClickLikeAndSubscribe]

@@EA-hi5vb Isn't it "you had written" and not "your wrote"? ;)

[@LaLa25O]

@Vox I don't register to vote because I am a domestic violence victim. Unfortunately my address and name is shared from voter registration to internet sites, easily searched by my perpetrator. I would love to vote, but as you can imagine, this simple act would put me in grave danger. Signing up for address protection doesn't help me because my perpetrator would still have to be notified of the state where I reside. I am also limited in mobility, and do not wish to drive to the post office to pick up my mail every time. I can only imagine how many other people are in my same situation.

[@fasteddie9970]

And a national holiday on voting day. And polling stations in poor and predominantly minority neighbourhoods.

[@JensPlaner]

And a better voting system altogether

[@P1ranh4]

Or like a whole week to vote. We always vote on weekends in Switzerland, but I can visit my municipal office throughout the week before the vote when I've got plans for the weekend and missed the date to send the vote by letter.

[@iwiffitthitotonacc4673]

@bridogg154 This just in: Making everyone capable of voting somehow getting twisted to be a bad idea by random internet user. World is in roar.

[@blacksunflower4957]

What are the advantages of voting on a holiday compared to the common Sunday? The good thing about Sunday is that you have time to set up the voting booths in the schools and town halls on Saturday.

[@kerrywsmyth]

FAST EDDIE I would totally support Election Day being a national holiday IF and ONLY IF we made it so that everyone votes on ONE DAY, i.e. no early voting, and restrict absentee ballots to legitimate reasons only.

[@SciencewithKatie]

Totally agree. You should automatically be registered to vote once you turn 18 everywhere!

[@himeshthungaturthi3215]

u are everywhere

[@65Drums]

I swear you watch every video I watch

[@GojosBackHand]

Y'all are just lazy

[@1anep]

Some don't want to opt into the draft list.

[@3p1cand3rs0n]

Especially in monarchies and dictatorships!

[@jessetorres8738]

Does anyone else love it when they do videos with these animated square people?

[@Vox]

We call them woccas and we love them too. We have a whole section of Vox dedicated to them from Alvin Chang: www.vox.com/explainers/2016/10/27/13435798/alvin-cartoonxplainer

[@jessetorres8738]

Oh sweet. The KZbin Channel not only loves my comment, but they actually replied to it. Awesome! Thanks guys.

[@jordan1192]

I love them

[@QueerCripple]

I love the Woccas! I feel like I’m being informed by LEGO People 😝

[@Lycaon1765]

They so cute.

[@thore345]

It's strange that you in the US have to register to vote. In Germany you are automatically registered in the place you live.

[@kbxredxk]

¥-Sides it’s honestly a political move from the parties. Both sides republicans and democrats benefit when less people vote which is why it is so hard to vote in some states.

[@RealmDesigner]

Half True. Republicans benefit when less people vote. That's why they try so hard, to make it so hard.

[@hectorvega621]

I was born in the U.S, born in the Illinois. Can't vote, unless I registered for it.

[@lowlize]

Same thing in Italy, and also in most other EU countries I believe.

[@_Bayul]

It's 82 million. A big population is not an excuse for americans to be inefficient. In india 540 million voters went to the poll this year.

[@AlreadyTaken999]

Automatic voter registration, among other institutional changes, would already be around if our government representatives actually cared about the will of the people. But lower turnout & even voter suppression makes it easier for those in power to stay in power without doing much to actually benefit those they are supposed to stand for.

[@DowneasterProductions]

Edwin Chan That’s just the American system and most people don’t vote because the dumbass was to prevent felons and other people commit did of minor crimes stopping them from voting and also at this point our political system is turned into a backwash of he said and she said and people throwing insults and the F bomb at each other not saying it’s just Trump but it’s just our political system in general I mean look at some of the Democrats are saying a 50 caliber sniper rifle fires Full auto heatseeking armored piercing rounds per minute

[@AlreadyTaken999]

@@DowneasterProductions The American ideal of democracy and freedom is that everybody gets a say in how they are governed, and the govt works for us. When that doesn't happen, it doesn't mean things are fine - it means we've all failed. Putting aside the debate about nonviolent felons voting, there are millions upon millions of ELIGIBLE citizens who are not registered, as the video cites. This is a problem. This isn't just an issue for Democrats. If someone in Kansas can't register without internet, if a guy in Mississippi can't vote because of long work shifts, and if you and your buddies can't get that message to Dem representatives, you're all also getting shafted. We're all taught in grade school the founders wanted every citizen to have a voice. Let's make that happen.

[@XXMETAL4LIF3XX]

who is suppressed from voting in the united states?

[@IkeOkerekeNews]

18 states plus D.C. have already implemented AVR. And this number is growing quickly.

[@Craznar]

A small clarification - in Australia whilst it isn't automatic registration, it is mandatory registration and voting. Probably a bit much for the US to do that. Once registered - the government will go out of its way to get your vote, be it in a Saturday voting booth, a postal vote, an absentee vote - or polling officers going out to remote communities and hospitals to collect votes. In Australia - democracy is mandatory :)

[@christmascactus1882]

Same is true for Belgium, which is why it has the highest turn-out. As far as I know there are no punishments for not voting, but not sure.

[@telltellyn]

This means there's no point in politicians attempting to impede specific communities from voting (when they think it will benefit them). Also, since voting is compulsory, our turnout rate is in the 90s. So that graph Vox used in this video must be completely off, it seems to show us down in the 70s.

[@Pernection]

@@christmascactus1882 Does Belgium have an electoral college system?

[@robertkopp873]

Christopher Burke Yes, and that is the way we like it in Australia. Besides, the right to vote was gained by us "regular folk" long ago. Way back, other people died so that we could vote todaye Exercise your right, or lose it.

[@turtle-balloon]

@@Pernection No.

[@Sacchidanand]

2:22 - Yes, voting should be opt out, not opt in.

[@logic7374]

Why? If you can't bother to register do you honestly care about voting? it takes like 5 minutes to register. It's not even difficult. How lazy will society get.

[@Quintinohthree]

@@logic7374 Why should it take any time at all? The requirement should be that you fill out a ballot. Voting should be as easy as possible while remaining secure and anonymous.

[@ElijahJGraves]

@@Quintinohthree People who don’t bother to register are usually uneducated on political subjects or don’t really care.

[@Quintinohthree]

@@ElijahJGraves Right, usually. Well if they don't care, what does it matter if they're registered or not. Might as well have them automatically registered so if they do begin to care they don't have an unnecessary step holding them back. And if they're "uneducated on political subjects", well, I'd say that's none of my business to decide and all of my business to help change.

[@Brandonbdk]

We should also have a day off from work on election day too

[@jaojao1768]

In Sweden election day is always on a sunday

[@Quintinohthree]

What you need most of all is to have long enough hours from the opening to closing of the polls so you can vote sometime during the day regardless of what hours you work. In thd Netherlands the polls open at 7:30 and close at 21:30 giving a 14 hour window and usually you're in and out in 5 minutes if you're waiting long, so you could easily vote during a break. Also helps that there are polling places just about anywhere and you are not required to vote at any particular one.

[@sthngo]

@Sir Jaojao In Austria too, also all the shops are closed on sundays here, so there's not much to do other than go vote and watch election coverage anyway. It's nice, when the elections are in the summer there's people in the parks with radios and you can usually just join them and have a little chat about who you want to win etc. I like election sunday

[@palynaike]

BornNinaPro in Spain, elections are ALWAYS on a Sunday. And not a lot of people work then, but even if they do, the polls are open from very early in the morning until quite late in the afternoon.

[@yocampout]

So so true. Unpaid day off. If u work 12 Hrs who wants to stand in line to vote if u forgot to go early? And that's if....if the polls are still open when u get home. Or make election day actually two days, Friday and Tuesday.

[@3p1cand3rs0n]

In the 2016 presidential election, I had lost my voter ID card in a cross-country move and didn't realize it until it was too late. I went to try to vote anyway and they absolutely refused. There was *no possible way* for me to vote. I very nearly cried.

[@montengro234]

Good job on letting Trump win, idiot

[@Dannylol]

Vidyagamesnake lol and how do you know he was going to vote for Hillary

[@我爱猪肉]

@@montengro234 Trump is better than Hillary anyways

[@nicolasblume1046]

That's crazy! It's hard for me to think about that such a thing as a "voter ID" exists at all. In germany you just need your normal passport and you can also do it via post if you don't have time at that day

[@two-face1041]

Skrooge Lantay so?

[@hfric]

it could be fix ... but the more important question here is ... do people in power that manipulate the system want it to be fixed

[@tinyhotopicbitch]

Nope, so until we get more uncorrupted politicians we can kiss the idea goodbye.

[@noizz]

The whole US registration thing is highly questionable in the first place because the driving license is considered an ID, effectively excluding non-driving people.

[@MRSEVILKANGROOEVILKO]

Which is why America needs ID cards for those who don't have a Driver's Licenses ...like other developed countries. A set of numbers shouldn't be the only thing that ID's you.

[@AbriahYouTubeNow]

@Frank Han I wouldn't want them to have more control if what they're doing makes no sense.

[@Philitron128]

Bingo! They don't have an incentive to change this

[@davidrallison7038]

Hopefully more young people turn out to vote after seeing the complete shitshow of the most recent election

[@BigAn7h]

David Rallison I agree. It would have been scary if Hillary Clinton became the President.

[@Tardvark]

I will vote for any amendment that allows Trump to stay in office longer than 2 terms

[@bri1085]

Won't help the fact both parties are lobbyist puppets

[@scarzoo005]

You can move to North Korea, its not Trump but they do have their leaders run a little longer like you like it.

[@wyzemann]

Zachary Q. Dwyer How many is “more than 2 terms”? Are you comfortable with voting a President in as dictator for life? Two terms is enough for any POTUS to hold power. Remember, we Americans have a primary allegiance to a working Constitutional Republic. No one person should ever be elected to lead such a government longer than necessary.

[@ThegamingZerii]

The real solution would be a mandatory ID. If every citizen needs an ID, you can also just have everyone automatically registered. Also, you guys don't need to use your social security number for personal identification anymore, a number completely unfit for that purpose.

[@irek1394]

USA has to be different :P

[@unknown-hf3jg]

@@DJVLDN that's the whole point. Republicans want to restrict the vote.

[@dxelson]

What? Do you mean the US doesn't have a national ID card?? How do people ID themselves?

[@irek1394]

Well republicans arent known for their consistency... Trump just said that he wants to keep medicare while in the same time he and the party does everything to destroy it... or that they want smaller government while thye do everything they can to make it bigger etc

[@AlreadyTaken999]

@Dxelson An inconsistent, often nonsensical patchwork of different state and regional IDs OR a 9-digit social security number with minimal security which leaves you open to identity theft every time you give it out.

[@neeneko]

I can recall when I was growing up there was a push to get automatic registration in my state, multiple times. Every time the GoP shut it down.

[@rouge1ful]

of course otherwise they wouldn't win anymore elections

[@augustinedaudu9203]

That's actually messed up.

[@PhoebeFayRuthLouise]

I live in Oregon! We automatically register people to vote AND we vote by mail -that makes it soooo easy to vote!

[@Blittsplitt5]

@secret Homeless could still walk to a school or library to vote (in theory). There are a lot of other barrier homeless people would have to face, other than not having an address.

[@SECONDQUEST]

Just about any State/City government building (Library, DMV) in Portland can help people vote. There are also residents who go around and help the homeless vote. It's great.

[@Udontkno7]

Doesn't every state vote by mail? We can in Florida.

[@danieldoesrandomstuff2501]

PhoebeFay RuthLouise voting by mail doesnt seem very secure to me

[@aliceool]

Or you could just have mandatory voting since 1924

[@thetrashmaster1352]

Meanwhile in Australia you are registered to vote if you have a tax number or a student number, making 90% of people over 18 registered to vote. Plus it's compulsory that helps.

[@vivigesso3756]

And then the liberals took their guns. Go figure.

[@mistermood4164]

Australia didn't have much guns to begin with

[@PavarottiAardvark]

Vox, why didn't you point out that making it hard to register and vote isn't accidental, but rather a very clearly deliberate effort to disenfranchise people?

[@garyermann]

I'm 95% sure they considered it and they worried it would turn off right wing voters. It might make them resist avn even harder if they put a segment in that said "Oh, btw. If we implement this, the Republican party will probably start losing elections left and right"

[@tianamatson]

It was deliberately difficult but I think it has roots in systemic racism where they tried to keep black people from being able to register to vote.

[@XXMETAL4LIF3XX]

i dont understand how its hard to register to vote in the US , most states allow you to while youre 17 years old. theres really not much to it. disenfranchise who?

[@PavarottiAardvark]

@@XXMETAL4LIF3XX Texas: Requires ID to vote, but around 500,000 Texans lack ID Wisconsin: Some ID offices are only open on the 5th wednesday of every month (few months have that) North Dakota: ID must now have street addresses, which disqualifies Native Americans who live on reservations. Georgia: 'Exact Match' rules disqualify people whose names include unusual letters. These restrictions hurt the poor, minorities, the homeless, those who can't take time off of work. These people are more likely to vote Democrat, so Republicans don't want them to vote.

[@dhtsoaedsdhtnadi9575]

what's so hard about going to the library or post office or courthouse or internet or the dmv or or or and writing your name and address on a piece of paper? what's so hard about going to the dmv and getting your picture taken? saying the system discriminates against poor or minority is preposterous. photo id is to prevent someone from voting as theirself then voting as their dead grandparent.

[@ELYUAN]

In Argentina is obligatory to vote if you are over 18 years old, and if you don't vote you get a fine you have to pay. And if you are over 16 you can vote but is optional.

[@FOLIPE]

Same in Brazil.

[@martinmonea7555]

That fine is pure smoke though, i've never met someone that had to pay it

[@nordinator89]

So where is the choice? not voting is a way to protest against the system.

[@arrgghh1555]

Then don't mark, or invalidate your ballot. Casting an informal vote is far superior way of protest then not turning up.

[@ggandalff]

@@nordinator89 yo can cast an empty ballot. It's even a better method of protest, because you explicitly show that you don't believe any of the candidates is worth your vote. I don't believe that empty ballots or not voting are a good way of protest, but the system allows you to do it if you believe it is.

[@AdminFromHell]

Belgium might be a bit misplaced in that graph as voting here is mandatory.

[@samuelschonenberger]

That explains why you guys ard number 1 of course

[@issaosama4937]

Australia’s voting is mandatory as well Americans should follow that example

[@metrophobian]

I respectfully disagree. If you make voting mandatory, you risk violating an individual's freedom to choose. People should have the right to vote or not vote as they decide. And if they do vote, they should have the right to vote for whomsoever they want - even if that means spoiling the ballet paper. Violating those principles runs contrary to the founding principles of a democracy. In my opinion. :-)

[@IvanSN]

@@metrophobian Make an option on the ballet to "abstain." Sound good?

[@NotADuncon]

Robert you are wrong. If voting is mandatory it doesn't mean you can't put in an empty vote. Also Australia has a preferential vote so even if you dislike every candidate it's quite certain you dislike one more than the other so you can rate them. Also what are "funding principles of democracy"?

[@kevinreagan3682]

Oddly enough, today at school they were asking students here if they were 18 and asking if they wanted to fill out the voting form. I know people who were 18 and said no, or I don’t care; it’s truly sad that people don’t care enough about there country. It’s said if you didn’t vote in the first place, then you have “no right” to complain about the future circumstances.

[@theMoporter]

In the UK it takes literally one or two minutes to register to vote and every household gets a postcard reminding you to vote. It's not allowed to sign up on the day and we're still doing better.

[@Goldigga5]

Even then, we get the postcards and reminders months in advance. I recently got an email to register electronically. They're making it simpler as time goes by.

[@IeuanCare]

We should still move to automatic registration. The monumental amount of effort made by volunteers to register people could be spent on literally anything else. It would also increase turn out amongst young people and renters who move more regularly.

[@cliffordmace9197]

Ieuan G Care I'm 99% certain that when you register to pay council tax you get put onto the electoral register and a form is sent out every year for you to sign to confirm who lives there and is on the register and who is over 65(?) so they don't get pulled for jury duty

[@lilaclizard4504]

20 years ago you had to register to vote in Australia, but when I moved, I found it had changed & within days of changing my licence address, I received a letter telling me my voter information had been updated & contact if their info was wrong. Makes perfect sense to me & I don't see why every democratic country wouldn't be going down this path. We also have "democracy sausages" to encourage us to vote :)

[@lilaclizard4504]

TOTALLY Passing Time :))

[@robertpinto9217]

I remember when I registered to vote after I turned 18 years back it was a tough process. I remember filling out lots of paper work at my town hall and needing pieces of mail and forms of ID like a social security card. It seemed like such an arduous process. Though I did it because I believe it is my civic duty to vote and have voted in 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2016. I am ready to vote again and encouraging every one I talk to to vote. It's so important in this day and age.

[@ArnoldLayne92]

The only complaint i have with this is that there should be no party registration, that is an unneeded and unfair bias that a 16 year old doesn’t need to decide allegiance to.

[@brandonlow27]

Dont forget the other huge difference in oregon - mail in voting. We dont have to go to the polls or anything. Our ballot is mailed to us and we just have to find the time to fill it out and drop it at a local ballot box. And we have like two weeks to do it.

[@ggandalff]

Isn't it insecure?

[@brandonlow27]

Each ballot is sent only to a registered voter and leaves a paper trail which makes it more difficult to do large scale voter fraud

[@layla.lavender]

Don't most states allow this? I'm in Arizona and I mail in my ballot.

[@ggandalff]

Is the ballot sent to your mail box? How do you avoid someone stealing the ballot and filling it themselves? This method really intreagues me cause in my country you are assigned to a specific voting station according to your recidency specified in your government assigned id

[@Udontkno7]

Florida does it too

[@136jab]

Being a convicted felon does not automatically disqualify you from voting, in many states, once you have completely served your time (including probation etc.) you can register to vote again.

[@NateNate60]

Young people lean Democratic. That's a big no-no for the Republicans.

[@Millionsofpeas]

Young people lean far to the left of the democrats. That is why even democratic meccas like New York aggressively stifle any voting reform and do whatever they can to stop young people and people of color from voting.

[@NateNate60]

@maverickM249 I never said "all".

[@Millionsofpeas]

rubbishrabble Young people absolutely lean democratic. This is confirmed by a myriad of polls. Election results are not representative of political opinion.

[@CadetGriffin]

_"and do whatever they can to stop young people and people of color from voting."_ The US has always stopped minors from voting. And can you give me examples of colored people being stopped from voting other than for being too late or being felons?

[@jamesbearpark3794]

In Britain you get are required to register to vote or you can be liable to an £80 fine

[@Nanofuture87]

The more fundamental reason many Americans don't vote is because the current system makes it largely symbolic. Large sections of the population are not actually represented by Democrats or Republicans.

[@1anep]

Vox keeps deleting this: Facts - Registering to vote = addition to the draft list. In a lot of developed countries, your right to vote is attached to military conscription and or mandatory military service. That cross section of people who don't want to be part of the draft, are not represented in this video.

[@bruddaswhomstdve601]

You can tell a countries' order of priorities when it has a voting system that makes it hard to register, but automatically registers all +18 men to the Selective Service...

[@Stephenguitar93]

We aren't automatically registered for selective service... We get 6 months to register ourselves in an almost identical process as registering to vote. (they also ask if we want to register to vote while we're doing it)

[@RetroBerner]

Restore felon voting rights. I don't think any crime has ever NOT been committed because of fear of losing voting rights.

[@moosesandmeese969]

In many states, you're automatically registered for the draft if you have a driver's license. There's no reason we can't automatically register people to vote

[@nativetexanful]

But there's a difference. Selective Service registration is required by law, registering to vote isn't. If people want to vote then they can take a few minutes to fill out a registration form.

[@kevinlaity5931]

Do you really have to say what your party affiliation is when you register to vote in the US? That seems to defeat the spirit of a secret ballot...

[@rohltadyse]

In Australia we get fined if we don't vote

[@ahoymatie9286]

Our PM change as frequently as I change my smoke alarm.

[@Deathmastertx]

If Australia is garbage, I'd hate to see what most other countries are.

[@ken-yo2hz]

@Rockothemutt Your*. American education system doing well.

[@soufian2733]

Same in Belgium

[@mashamitchell9574]

Republicans have worked very, VERY hard to make registering to vote HARDER. They would never allow for any system that made registering to vote or actually voting easier.

[@sieurJulien]

France also have automatic voter registration for people turning 18.

[@madelinemardigan3386]

And look at the state of France now

[@5122jeff]

Unfair voter registration laws are also a thing to keep people from voting, here in Texas you need like 18 different forms of ID and a blood sample to vote.

[@yourbattleaxe]

Imagine having to use an ID to vote. How weird... like the bank or driving or flying or getting a library card. so racist!

[@mama2agn301]

I love how easy it is to vote in my state, not only does Oregon automatically register you to vote, we vote by mail, so there are no lines to wait in or work missed. There is really no excuse not to vote!

[@RamdomView]

In Canada, if you pay taxes and are a citizen, you are automatically registered. Employers are also obligated to offer time off work if requested by an employee.

[@AmericaFromScratch]

Other ways we could make voting easier is by 1. Have polling centers rather than polling places so that you could vote at any polling center in your state. 2. We could vote on a weekend and/or make election day a national holiday. 3. Online registration in all 50 states 4. Let every person register to vote on election day.

[@madelinemardigan3386]

Too easy for fraud

[@DSDSDS1235]

So basically, this is suggesting a US citizen to be required to vote in this social contract? For a country that put so much emphasis on voting, so much as allowing its people to vote overseas, the fact that this isn't in the first line of your laws baffles me :v

[@FOLIPE]

Every country allows people to vote overseas.

[@OzzyPaco]

Are you suggesting the country FORCE people to vote?!? This is America...

[@dethcubegaming1556]

@@OzzyPaco um no, its suggesting an op-out system where you dont HAVE to vote, you're just automatically enrolled to vote. You're not forced to vote

[@neilis2405]

America pushes the concept of freedom before much of anything else. Laws requiring you to participate in an activity are passed and implemented as sparingly as possible. What good would come from forcing people to vote when many of them aren't even familiar with the issues.

[@MeatPops]

Perhaps it would give more people a reason to become familiar with those issues.

As an European, I never heard of registration for voting... We just go on the election day to the voting room with our ID card and vote...

[@klmopification]

In Belgium it's mandatory to vote. There's no choice. You get a fine if you don't vote.

[@CoinOpTV]

When Minecraft meets voting!

[@Saitaina]

You missed another key thing in Oregon's way of voting that also contributes to that number. Oregon is a vote by mail state, we literally do not have to leave the house to vote.

[@ludwiggrundberg7050]

In sweden everyone allowed to vote gets a "voting card" by mail in which they will take with them while voting. It's really easy.

[@lowlize]

Same thing in Italy, and also in most other EU countries I believe.

[@Gorilder]

Same in the US tbh... in my home State of Louisiana it takes about 2-5 minutes tops to register online and they'll just mail you your card. It's pathetically easy. Anyone who doesn't register is either incompetent/lives under a rock or doesn't care.

[@Quintinohthree]

@@Gorilder Why should it take 2-5 minutes to be allowed to vote?

[@matthewnegre8736]

Also known as: I want to be able to vote, but I can't be bothered to get up and go do it myself.

[@Kaldor-Draigo-h6q]

Last time I was this early we were still debating creationists on KZbin.

[@Werdna12345]

Witch Hunter We’re still praying for you guys. Having thoughtful conversations and actually listening and thinking about differing opinions, works way better in person with people you actually know. If you think your position has no holes, look up radio halos. It compares dating different radio isotopes found in the same crystal. The should all point towards the same age, but the longer the half-lifes were, the more drastic the ages were apart (orders of magnitude not just a percentage)

[@lncerante]

Witch Hunter Tyrus oh you thought it didn't happen anymore?

[@Kaldor-Draigo-h6q]

nah dude the rage nowadays is ben shapiro dropping logic bombs on liberals and tucker carlson destroying bill nye. It's a funny world we live in.

[@TurbopropPuppy]

everyone over 18 should be automatically registered to vote, including felons. people in prison should be allowed to vote

[@eliparker7151]

At 3:02, isn't it spelled "implemented"?

[@kearygallagher]

lmao

[@thejimmydanly]

I'm helping with a petition drive to get several issues on the ballot for my City's municipal elections next spring. As a part of this, we're also helping people register to vote. Last week, we had a booth at our local fair, and had a "Register to Vote" sign at our booth. There was a couple visiting from Austria who came by our booth, confused about our sign. They had a hard time wrapping their heads around the idea that you have to actively register to vote in America.

[@chancelathrop7682]

To be fair if someone doesn't want to spend a day getting registered i don't want them voting.

[@Quintinohthree]

I don't want to spend a minute getting registered and I'm very well engaged with politics to the point of reading several party manifests prior to elections.

[@Absurdist1968]

A lot of this assumes that states _want_ all the eligible voters registered, and there are these states with predominantly Republican legislatures (that don't already have automatic voter registration -- I live in one) that have made it eminently clear, with things like pushing back on the Voting Rights Act, that they don't. The federal government can't mandate it, and there's really no other way to get these legislatures to stop sanbagging or dragging their feet.

[@AgentPaul101]

i don't understand american democracy. its like they don't even want you to vote. Aren't you proud of Freedom and Democray all the time? and you can't even get those simple things done? with love, europe

[@Evanhutton19]

You guys dont have memes anymore shut up

[@loudmouthandall7261]

Why are Europeans so bitter and smug??

[@madelinemardigan3386]

We aren't a democracy

[@dr521]

My high school (in Portland OR) has a place where students can register to vote during lunchtime. You can register even if you aren’t 18, and once you turn 18 you’ll already be registered.

[@alienworm1999]

This it totally nitpicking, but there's a slight error with the animation at 0:31; it underlines "people who can vote" as 55%, and underlines "people who do" as 86%. Still a fantastic vid regardless.

[@frankiemillcarek6976]

Also at 2:59 “justice” is spelled incorrectly.

[@mrf4ncyp4nts]

Frankie Millcarek Haha, they already made a popup correction for it

[@vilarealloft3607]

There you have it, Trumpty Dumpty: the "proof" that millions of illegals voted! B)

[@erickvillegas8327]

I registered to vote when I was 18 but, when I went to go vote I was told that in order to vote democratic I had to be registered as a Democrat. So I told them to register me as a Democrat so that I could vote in the next election without using a provisional ballot. The next time around I was registered as a Democrat but was registered to vote by mail so I had to use a provisional ballot again. The third time my name was not on the list to vote at that polling place. They asked me if I moved and I told them that I've been living in the same house for over 15 years. They chuckled and then directed me to use a provisional ballot. On another occasion the sample ballot did not arrive at my house. To this day I don't think I've seen an actual ballot and to my surprise I received a mail piece stating that my most recent provisional ballot had been counted which was odd because I had not received one before which probably meant that the previous times I voted probably weren't counted. I'm 22 now by the way.

[@Quintinohthree]

There is so much wrong with all of this. Serious breaches in the anonymity of the vote. What has happened to everyone getting the same ballot and filling it out so that nobody could figure out who did it?

[@nevermoreever2]

Also, in those other countries with better registration methods they also allow criminals to vote. The only thing we take away from criminals serving their time is their freedom to move. We don't torture them like the USA does. You shouldn't lose your right to vote because you committed a crime, ESPECIALLY AFTER they have SERVED their time and are now no longer criminals unless they commit a new crime. The only people who should lose their right to vote are corrupt people who try to gain the system or have committed MASSIVE POLITICAL crimes.

[@JohannesJ7539]

In Mexico when you turn 18 you almost wanna get your voter card as fast as possible cause it's your I.D. It has your picture and everything, when you get a job your employer uses it, if you wanna get into a bar you use it. It's way safer than using your social security...

[@JoeArant]

Now do one on how America should move to ranked choice voting...

[@JoeArant]

@Sc0ut op actually it could be called either

[@JoeArant]

@Sc0ut op cool

[@UmbreonLibris]

Wait, in the US you register to vote with a specific party? Not just...to vote? What if you don't want to choose a party? US elections are so weird...

[@musicechoes21]

You can choose to not join a specific party. The only difference is that you may need to request to vote in certain elections, as opposed to automatically being mailed a ballot.

[@erzan]

1. Automatic voting registration. 2. Two day voting period. 3. Online voting. 4. Voting booths in supermarkets.

[@canteatpi]

mostly agree, but not for point 3. Online voting, as any form of electronical voting, is dangerous and susceptible to hacking or other forms of cheating.

[@joryjones6808]

erzan also we should change the voting system to instant run-off or a more representative voting system.

[@Hans-jc1ju]

Hi, German person here; there are a few things I do not understand: - Why do you have to go to the DMV‽ (I think) here you get registered when you turn 18 without going to the DMV. WHY‽ - Why do you have to select a party in that letter? Here we get a piece of paper in the mail in which we can request a postal ballot and get told where we could go to vote otherwise. Why is your system so complicated‽

[@VexinatorDesigns]

Some of those statistics at 0:22 are just straight up wrong. Australia is 2 spots below Sweden (who you claimed had a turnout of 80%), yet we have compulsory voting.This compulsory voting means the only people who don't vote in Australia are "anarchists" and hippies who get smacked with fines or elderly / disabled people who can't get to a pole or are otherwise incapable of voting (and even then we have mail voting ond online voting).

[@VexinatorDesigns]

So I looked it up and Australia's average turnout is 96%, soooo...

[@VexinatorDesigns]

oh, and last year 26% of Australian's voted *early*

[@vilarealloft3607]

3:21 The chart is wrong in what refers to Portugal. It presents the country as not having AVR, when in fact it does, and that's not something recent. And, contrary to the US, in Portugal you don't need to own a car or a driver's licence to register. All citizens in Portugal have a national identity card (a.k.a. citizen's card) - while not everybody has a driver's licence - and in the Civil Registry's data base each citizen's address is kept. Each time someone updates their address, if that means changing to another voting district (i.e., municipality and/or civil parish), then the voting registration is automatically updated, deleting them from the old district and adding them to the new one. (The update is automatic but not instantaneous: if you changed addresses recently, you may still have to vote in you old district...) This update also affects other things, like your fiscal residence, for tax purposes.

[@charleskuhn382]

1:50 not 4%, but 4 percentage points

[@tyrique]

Yes thank you! This mistake is one of my pet peeves.

[@chinito77]

I like the idea but why do you have to pick a “Party”? I picked both Republican to Democrats over the years. It should ALWAYS be about the candidate with the best ideas, NEVER about the Party! It’s like forcing people to choose to watch CNN or FOX for news, both are toxic but smart people will watch both and make their own conclusions or even better, not watch either!

[@generationhome7005]

Our system of voluntary voter registration was created by design. From the college educated electoral college to the state elected Senate the United States was designed by its founding fathers as an educated republic and as such voting was designed for those who wanted to vote for a candidate based on an educated decision, not out of partisan hate or preference for populism.

[@1anep]

They are not representing the cross-section of voting age citizens who don't want to be part of the draft.

[@salokin3087]

Australia has had it since 1924 and turnout has always been about 95% American politics would be so much better if this was the case

[@PelleKuipers]

Got any stats for this?

[@TMWriting]

Actually, we don’t have automatic registration, if you look at the chart they show of countries that have implemented it. What we do have is compulsory voting, which is something I think every country should implement.

[@THR4SHER007]

@@TMWriting we have the same sort of thing as Aus over here in NZ, but we are both quite small countries compared to the USA. I'm 19 and voted.

[@vladthemanpire5894]

@Will224000 what if it's a white and muslim at the same time?

[@josephwodarczyk977]

It's the same here in New Jersey, the person at the DMV just asked if I wanted to register to vote, I picked a party, and continued the process to get my license.

[@Quintinohthree]

I find this idea of picking a party while you register strange.

[@josephwodarczyk977]

Eh, doesn't really make a difference for the voter and it's useful for statistics. Also by knowing what parties each area is a part of ahead of time, you can draw better district maps for voting.

[@Quintinohthree]

All of that sounds like exactly why you shouldn't register party affilliations. Knowing where people voting for particular parties live makes it really easy to make district maps that produce terrible representation for the people but exactly the representation that those making the maps want. You know, politicians choosing their voters rather than voters choosing their politicians.

[@hans7686]

This is probably a unpopular opinion, but if somebody doesn't care enough to register to vote on their own initiative then I don't think they are giving the election itself much thought. So I'm fine with those people not voting.

[@iankloster4911]

I'd disagree. Many people DO care, and are unable to vote. Due to an increasing number of voter ID laws with increasingly rigorous standards, many people who move frequently, have no ID card recognized by the state for whatever reason, or are homeless and have no current address are unable to cast their votes. An automatic registration doesn't mean that people who don't care will vote, it simply means that people who do care and were unable to without automatic registration are now able to cast votes.

[@taylorbeckett9686]

I'm not disagreeing, but I think it goes deeper than just being registered. Some people are just totally apathetic, especially with the choices given.

[@Laserchicken88]

I mean... 55% of your nation gathered enough strength to vote for a donkey or the crook. That's impressive.

[@elaowczarczyk7143]

Here in Canada the second you turn 18 you’re automatically allowed to vote, and never had to fill any papers out in order to vote. It’s so strange to hear that Americans have to do this.

[@praveen4143]

Am I the only one to notice the incorrect spelling of the word implement in the video... Lol... #OCD #SorryNotSorry

[@poppamaxful]

Also they spell "Justuce" instead of Justice

[@CassidyCope]

Nope. Vox itself made a correction popup.

[@logic7374]

That's not called OCD. Learn what OCD actually is before you just self diagnose yourself because you want to be marginalized to be quirky.

[@praveen4143]

Casi Paul I saw this video originally on a smart TV, so it didn't show up. Lol... I see that now! Thanks!

[@praveen4143]

Logic Yeah I know... I was just trying to be silly... I know I am quirky and fully embrace it, so not worried about that.

[@_JayRamsey_]

"If you make it easy for people to register to vote, they'll vote." The GOP knows this. There's a reason we don't have automatic voter registration.

[@EquilibriumTelevision]

More voting does not necessarily mean more informed voting. But at least if you’re getting people involved it may motivate people to invest more of their time in the democratic process.

[@queenbee7786]

We need AVR in India. I’m 24 and I still don’t have a Voter ID, solely because of the fact that the registration in my State is in itself a tedious process. Nobody has that kind of time.

[@danielo4126]

Voting is a privilege and a right however if you don’t take the couple minutes to register you don’t deserve to vote period. Voting shouldn’t be as simple as doing a poll it’s something to be taken serious.

[@Quintinohthree]

Privileges aren't rights and rights aren't privileges. Voting should be taken seriously and that's why it should be as easy as possible.

[@melrose177]

That’s kind of where I’m at. While I think it might be unnecessarily difficult to register in some states, if it matters you’ll get it done.

[@antonywerner3018]

in Germany for example we have registers were you are write in wen you are born, and if you move you have to go to Registration office, in the city you moved to.

[@alynfrank6746]

Republicans: P E O P L E A R E V O T I N G ? ! ? ! ?

[@elfensky]

Belgium has mandatory voting, you get fined if you don't. I feel the US needs something drastic like that. Imho if you want to have a democratic system you need to participate in its process. You can't eat the cake without helping to make it.

[@montengro234]

Forcing people to vote neither improves politics nor does it improve the knowledge of the people voting People who don't want to vote don't want to vote, don't force it or you will get poorly researched and tribalistic voting

[@Quintinohthree]

The video is about automatic registration, not mandatory voting. Even with mandatory voting, people who don't want to vote don't vote, they're just required to actually hand in an empty or invalid ballot.

[@1anep]

Contd. Making it even easier for the government to conscript and of course jail those who are registered, but don't want to serve.

[@jaridkeen123]

It would be nice if I can Cast my Vote online without going to the Polls I have to go to college and Work I dont have time to stand in line at the Polls

[@rioyoung1493]

Jarid Gaming a national holiday would help with that

[@luked2115]

Online would be dangerous what with hackers. But mail-in ballots are a viable option.

[@davidbuschhorn6539]

They used to do both registration and absentee ballot registration in my high school. So students literally were voting in class. Our public high school took registering and voting seriously.

[@CuriosityCulture]

I’m curious.. can we put voting on the blockchain?

[@JimCullen]

In theory, yes. It could be done and would be intrinsically very secure. The problem is that *people* aren't secure. Their computers aren't secure. And because of this, blockchain-based voting is a non-starter. It's too insecure and would be too easy to hack.

[@ohareza]

Yep, but why would you want to do that? It still needs to be centralized for security reasons as @Jim Cullen said. It's not very viable in the US, but it may be possible in Indonesia (My country) since our National ID card is a smart card, and can potentially be used for storing private keys.

[@JimCullen]

+NXNXNXNX There's actually no need for centralised storage of private keys per se. You can use a centralised identity server to sign a blinded token (using "blind signatures") that goes along with the vote. This makes it impossible for them to track who voted for whom, while also ensuring that one person can only vote once, and only people eligible to vote do vote. The catch is that people's computers can be hacked, or they can be phished, far more easily if their computer does the voting than if they vote with pencil and paper.

[@Quintinohthree]

@@JimCullen There's good reason why pencil on paper has worked for so long and there's good reason why it will work gor so much longer.

[@JimCullen]

+Quintinohthree yes. That's basically what I just said.

[@qyterot]

0:33 The underlines should be switched. (People who can vote are 86.8%, people who do are 55.7%)

[@BobMcCoy]

*Who here is an intellectual*

[@hallfamily2141]

r/iamverysmart

[@WMDistraction]

I registered online in Arizona, and it was super easy. They also actively encourage early, remote voting. I've already voted for the general election this year, and I'm on a different continent.

[@tristanferencevic453]

wow you yanks do not like to show up for election day

[@RamdomView]

That's what happens when one of the political parties benefits from preventing voting.

[@end3rzl33t]

We've had this AVR in the Netherlands for years. Couldn't imagine voting working any other way or that it's called AVR. Thanks Vox. You should do a video on the popular website stemwijzer.nl, 30 statements/questions on variety of subjects that help you determine which political party suits you based on their platforms.

[@Quintinohthree]

There's a lot to be said against stemwijzer too, but the idea is good in principle. Don't know who to vote for? Answer 30 questions about current topics and you'll be told what parties align with the answers you gave and what parties don't align at all. It's a good starting point for making your choice, I think, but I really would encourage looking a little further afterwards. Check your top 3 or so, see what their manifest says, see who their candidates are. I always check to see if there are candidates from my local region, because I do find it important to be represented by someone local rather than someone from literally the other side of the country (the Randstad is overrepresented in Parliament and especially Brabant and Gelderland are underrepresented, guess where I'm from). I also usually vote for a downlist candidate, ideally around the number of seats I think my party is getting. That actually got my candidate narrowly elected in the 2017 election so I can tell you it works.

[@end3rzl33t]

@@Quintinohthree I totally agree, I similarly look at the rest of the platform beyond the 30 questions. I admit I don't go into as much detail looking up candidates, I generally look at debates on national and local tv shows for those that stand out and align with me. I remember a piece on zondag met lubach on brabant and their cry for help in dealing with criminal gangs influencing local politics. Terrible neglect that shouldn't have gone so far. So I definitely understand and agree with your motivation and the representation issue.

[@Voltanaut]

I respect the fact that Vox made this video whilst knowing they'd primarily be helping more conservative-leaning voters. That, in my view, is a strong sign of loyalty to democracy.

[@LoreEclectic]

How so? Edit: I mean how would it primarily help conservative voters not how is it a sign of loyalty to democracy, just thought I wasn't clear enough my bad

[@blacksunflower4957]

Of course they have to do that. Every democracy needs as many people as possible voting because that gives the government legitimation as representation of the people.

[@connor863]

I think automatic voter registration is a good idea. We should just focus on replacing the electoral college with the popular vote.

[@thijmstickman8349]

And implement ranked choice voteing

[@connor863]

@@thijmstickman8349 Agreed

[@LE-kt9jg]

I hope everyone is having an awesome day, and your dreams will come true one day! 😊❤️

[@EmilyExplosion27]

I registered before I even turned 18 (which you can do, at least here in CA, as long as you'll be 18 by the next election.) I also updated my registration online all 4 times that I've moved since. 5 addresses registered, 6 or 7 elections voted in, all before I ever got a drivers license. Just saying, being registered at the DMV would not have worked out for me. (Also not going into the fact that getting a DMV-issued ID is already a MAJOR barrier for a lot of people, as is evidenced in the disproportionate disenfranchisement due to voter ID laws.)

[@davecarl7142]

Promises, promises.....Unfortunately many of the voting rolls are run at the county level and they don't want to give up their power over their corner of the system.....

[@trent6319]

Having a small time based poll "tax" could refine the population to voters who are informed if you don't have time to register you don't have time to research politicians.