Elana Levin

Same day voter registration. Its good enough for Iraq…

As Iraqis living in America head to the voting booths this week to vote absentee in their elections they will be experiencing something most of us here in America cannot relate to.

Same day voter registration!

That's right.

In order to encourage voter turnout among Iraqi ex-pats they are being allowed to vote in advance of the official election date AND register and vote on the same day. During earlier elections for who would write their Constitution, Iraqis could register to vote up to a week before the election. But that didn't encourage enough turn-out seeing as many Iraqis in America had to travel very long distances to register to vote and then travel again to actually vote.

So what did the government do to encourage greater participation?
Same thing us democracy proponents in America have been encouraging since forever-- same day voter registration!

Once again, America lags behind in setting an example for fledgling democracies the world over.

Of course those leftists back in Iraq are also entitled to universal healthcare (not worth much if you're gonna get attacked en-route to the pediatrician but you get the idea).

Do you hear the proponents of the Iraq war calling for either of these pro-democracy practices to happen in their own country, the good ole' USA? Don't make me cry.

But hey, if its good enough for Iraq how come its too good for us in the states?

Elana Levin: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 6:04 AM, Dec 15, 2005 in Democracy | Progressive Agenda
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