Chris Christie Vetoes Automatic Voter Registration Bill

California and Oregon both passed mandatory voter registration laws this year and, if Democrats have their way, they are only the first of many. A Democratic group called iVote which is led by Jeremy Bird, a top Obama campaign aide, plans to spend millions of dollars in an effort to push mandatory voter registration laws.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently vetoed a mandatory voter registration effort by Democrats in the state.  Regarding the veto, Governor Christie said: "New Jersey taxpayers deserve better than to have their hard-earned tax dollars spent on thinly-veiled political gamesmanship and the State must ensure that every eligible citizen's vote counts and is not stolen by fraud."

As the Heritage Foundation points out, mandatory registration is nothing but a "'solution in search of a problem," and, as Governor Christie said, increases the potential for fraud. Mandatory registration is unlikely to help increase voter turnout because it is a lack of interest that keeps most voters from registering. In fact, the Census Bureau reports that only 4% of individuals claimed that they had not registered to vote  because they didn't "know where or how to register." Mandatory registration may not solve any problems, but it certainly has the potential to create one. These policies often involve permanent registration which has the potential to increase fraud because ineligible voters, voters who have moved, and the deceased would be more difficult to remove from the voter rolls.

Congratulations Governor Christie, and thank you for taking a stand and maintaining the integrity of the electoral system.