Apr 15, 2018 3 min read

When Conor Lamb and Rick Saccone faced off a little more than a month ago in the 18th Congressional District special election, voter turnout was about 40 percent, and that number was met with heel-clicking glee by people who fret about the health of our democracy. Forty percent turnout in something other than a presidential election is truly something to crow about.

But that’s the proverbial glass-half-full interpretation. On the other hand, more than half of registered voters did not cast ballots in that race, despite the fact that it received copious amounts of attention both locally and nationally and was considered something of a referendum on President Trump’s first-year performance.

American voter participation has long lagged behind other industrialized democracies. Some believe this reflects either general contentment or a discontent that runs so deep that many potential voters tune out politics entirely. But surely some of the reason is that it is harder in the United States to actually vote when compared to other nations. In Israel, for instance, you are automatically registered to vote once you turn 18. It’s the same in Switzerland, to cite another example, where they also send out ballots a few weeks before there’s a referendum or election.

At some locations here in the United States, by contrast, there can be long lines at polling places and limited numbers of booths. In Pennsylvania, voter registration is usually closed about one month before ballots are cast. We make it harder for working people to vote by holding elections on Tuesdays and closing the polls, in most states, by 8 p.m. (in Britain, the polls close at 10 p.m.). Voter ID laws that have been implemented in some states have clearly been devised to keep younger, minority and poorer voters away from the polls, even though proponents argue they are preventing voter fraud, which has been shown to be virtually nonexistent.

All this means the electorate tends to be older and whiter than the United States as a whole.

We can and should do better.

Fortunately, we have some examples from which to draw. Anchorage, Alaska, recently had its first vote-by-mail election and ended up with its largest turnout ever for a municipal race. A little more than two years ago, Oregon launched automatic voter registration, which puts voters on the registration rolls if they make contact with the state’s motor vehicles division. Residents have the option of opting out by returning a postcard. It’s probably not a coincidence that turnout increased in Oregon more than any other state between the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections.

Gov. Tom Wolf has made some proposals to improve voter participation in Pennsylvania. Granted, the Democrat is floating them in an election year, and they are not likely to get anywhere in a Republican-controlled Legislature, but they are nevertheless sensible. Wolf is calling for same-day voter registration, which would allow residents to register at their polling places on election days; automatic voter registration, like they have in Oregon; and “no-excuse” absentee ballots, where voters can request an absentee ballot without providing an explanation. Pennsylvania should join the 27 other states where an absentee ballot is provided simply upon request.

The teacher and author Sharon Salzberg once said voting is “the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country and this world.” We should be making it as easy as possible for citizens to follow through on that commitment.