HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 79
(By Delegates Webster, Hatfield, Guthrie, Brown, Palumbo,
Spencer, Wells, Andes, Argento, Azinger, Burdiss, Crosier, Doyle,
Ellem, Ennis, Fleischauer, Gall, Hutchins, Iaquinta, Kessler,
Klempa, Kominar, Longstreth, Manchin, Marshall, Michael, Miller,
Moore, Purdue, Perry, Pino, D. Poling, Proudfoot, Shook,
Staggers, Stemple, Stephens, Swartzmiller, Talbott, Varner,
Williams, Wysong and Yost )
Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study the
feasibility of election day registration in and for the State
of West Virginia.
WHEREAS, Democracy is served best when the highest possible
number of citizens participate; and
WHEREAS, In West Virginia, election turnout lags behind the
country. In the 2004 presidential elections, the national turnout
average was 60.3% where the turnout in West Virginia was only
53.25%; and
WHEREAS, Voter rates among young people are particularly
disheartening; and
WHEREAS, Currently in West Virginia, voter registration
applications must be postmarked twenty-one days before election
day; and
WHEREAS, At the same time, the greatest share of news
attention to elections occurs in the week before the election
itself, after the deadline for voter registration has passed; and
WHEREAS, There is no evidence that the act of registering to
vote in advance has any correlation to level of political knowledge
or interest; and
WHEREAS, Currently there are nine states that have some form
of election day or same day voter registration. Those states
include states that are largely rural such as Maine, Idaho and
Iowa, as well as states with a mix of rural and urban populations,
such as Minnesota and Wisconsin; and
WHEREAS, The states of Maine, Wisconsin and Minnesota have had
election day registration since the 1970s, while Iowa and North
Carolina passed their measures in 2007; and
WHEREAS, Election day registration is a reform that has shown
to have a positive impact on election turnout, especially among
young people; and
WHEREAS, States that permit election day registration states
consistently boast higher turnout than non-election day
registration states. In the 2004 Presidential race, election day
registration states had an average turnout twelve percentage points
higher than the average turnout for non-election day registration
states; and
WHEREAS, While that full increase cannot likely be attributed
to election day registration alone, research shows that at least
three to six percentage points of the increase is directly related
to election day registration; therefore, be it
Resolved, by the legislature of West Virginia:
That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study the
feasability of election day registration and its potential impact
on elections and on voter turnout in the state of West Virginia.
Further resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and
Finance report to the regular session of the Legislature, 2009 on
its findings, conclusions and recommendations, together with drafts
of any legislation necessary to effectuate its recommendations; and
be it
Further resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this
study, to prepare a report and to draft necessary legislation be
paid from the legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on
Government and Finance.