Voter registration
In many jurisdictions, registration is an automatic process performed by extracting the names of voting age residents of a precinct from a general-use population registry ahead of election day.
[2][3] Even in countries where registration is the individual's responsibility, many reformers, seeking to maximize voter turnout, argue for a wider availability of the required forms, or more ease of process by having more places where they can register.
In some nations, voters are automatically added to the rolls when they reach legal voting age.
[7][8] Before an election, each municipality compiles a list of eligible voters based on the digital and continuously updated National Register (the database of all citizens).
In the 1990s Canada adopted an opt-in process, by which voters mark their consent to be added the national register on their annual income tax returns.
It is based on a database by the Civil Registry Office of Chileans and resident foreigners in possession of an identity card number, which is unique for each individual when issued and is never re-used after a person's death.
Changing the address in the register automatically notifies all other public bodies (for example the tax district for local taxation, the social security authorities, the conscription authorities) and certain trusted private ones (e.g. banks and insurance companies), making the process of moving residence very simple.
[18] In Hong Kong all permanent residents who are above 18 years of age and do not suffer from a mental illness can register as voters.
In Israel, all citizens who are 18 years of age or older on election day are automatically registered to vote.
The registry of eligible voters can be viewed by anyone to ensure maximum transparency in the electoral process.
[25] In Kazakhstan, voter registration for general elections is conducted by local executive bodies (akimats).
[29] In municipal elections, eligibility is dependent on the place of residency on nomination day, with non-EU nationals also having voting rights when they have been living in the Netherlands legally for five years or more.
All eligible voters receive a card in the mail before each election which shows the date, time and local polling place.
Voters are assigned to a district based on the official address of residence per 30 June in the election year.
Voters may vote early in any district in the country, usually at City Hall or similar, or in embassies and consulates abroad.
[31] All citizens of Peru between 18 and 70 years are registered to vote through the National Registry of Identification and Civil Status, except all members of the police and the armed forces, who are not allowed to participate in elections.
However, citizens either temporary visiting or permanently residing abroad must register for an overseas in-absentee ballot in order to vote.
Certain convicted felons are disenfranchised while serving their sentences, but their voting rights are automatically restored afterwards without exception.
All eligible voters receive a letter in the mail to their registered address prior to election Sunday showing the date, time and local polling place, which is almost invariably the nearest school or the town hall in very small towns without a school.
Registered residents may vote in local and regional elections if they are citizens of another EU Member State, Iceland or Norway.
Polling may also be done anywhere in the country at various early voting stations determined by the local election commission or at a Swedish diplomatic mission, all to facilitate for the voters.
Across the country, the registration of electors is still technically the responsibility of the head of household, a concept which some consider to be anachronistic in modern society.
As of January 2012, mandatory individual registration, pursuant to the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009, was anticipated.
[42] A feasibility study for electronic individual voter registration (IVR), based on the experience of other nations, was undertaken by EURIM (Information Society Alliance) in 2010.
There was discussion of data from Northern Ireland, where individual voter registration levels significantly decreased following the introduction of an IVR policy.
To provide for persons who are transient, if an individual lacking a fixed address wants to vote, they may register by filling in a 'Declaration of local connection' form.
This establishes a connection to the area based on the last fixed address someone had, or the place where they spend a substantial amount of their time (e.g. a homeless shelter).
[50][51] A 2012 study by The Pew Charitable Trusts estimates that 24% of the voting-eligible population in the United States are not registered to vote, a percentage that represents "at least 51 million eligible U.S.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 forbade such abuses and authorized federal oversight in jurisdictions of historic under-representation of certain groups.
[54][55][56] The states were required to offer alternatives for the November 2016 elections; many of these cases were expected to reach the US Supreme Court for additional hearings.
