As the United States moves toward the conclusion of the 2016 Presidential election cycle with only two months remaining, it seems that every issue that would be considered a non-partisan one has become exactly that, including the issue of automatic voter registration.

The latest issue, which has become a hot button topic dividing the two political parties and ideological sides, is the issue of implementing automatic voter registration. The issue has come up in the national spotlight over recent weeks as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a key figure in the Donald Trump campaign, recently vetoed legislation that would allow people getting drivers licenses, drivers permits or state IDs to be automatically enrolled in the voting process.

“I continue to fully support efforts to increase voter registration” Gov. Christie said in a written statement following his vetoing of the bill on Thursday, August 18th.

The issue of voter registration and automatic registration has long divided Democrats and Republicans and liberals and conservatives, as each side has its varying opinions and beliefs as to why people should be automatically allowed to vote (mainly on the Democrat and liberal side) and while a majority of Republicans and conservatives who are opposed to it.

“This is just like a cocktail of fraud” the governor continued in his statement, echoing the belief of many Republicans and conservatives that increasing the right to vote automatically would increase the instances of voter fraud.

In New Jersey, a state that leans heavily Democrat, with 52 Democrats in the General Assembly and only 28 Republicans, along with Democrats controlling the State Senate, with 24 Democrats and 16 Republicans, the motion easily passed both houses.

However, due to the ideological differences, between the two sides, Mr. Christie vetoed it.

Throughout the United States, there are 5 states that have implemented automatic voter registration. California, Connecticut, Oregon, Vermont, and West Virginia have all enacted automatic registration. The first four states, all lean heavily democrat in their voting pattern and liberal ideologically.

Within thosestates that have auto-registration, Connecticut has the highest number of voter fraud cases in 84 documented cases, Oregon coming in second with 31, California third with 10 and West Virginia and Vermont each with 0 documented cases. The stats were connected with every Presidential election since 2000.

Under New Jersey’s current voting process, New Jersey had 1 total voter fraud case involving Presidential elections and 44 other documented cases of election fraud.

The divide between the two sides has also been playing itself out on the National stage but in a different form as many Republican states have been trying to implement strict voter ID laws with the liberals and Democrats opposing the measures and taking them to court to try and overturn them. And in many cases, with the help of sympathetic judges have been successful.  The

“I guess now that Breitbart’s in charge of the campaign he’s going in the other direction” Tim Eustace, a Democratic Assemblyman and one of the bill’s main sponsors said regarding Steven K. Bannon taking over the Trump campaign a couple of weeks ago. He’s not representing the people of New Jersey; he’s representing this national agenda that says there is voter fraud”.

Gov. Christie continued in his remarks by saying that the bill should be titled “The Voter Fraud Enhancement and Permission Act.”

New Jersey saw a dip in its voter turnout for the 2012 Presidential election, when it went from 62.3% in 2008 to 57.5%. The turnout was even worth within the primary season as only 9% of New Jersey voters turned out to vote in the primary contest.

The state with the highest voter turnout for the Presidential election was Minnesota with 74.6%.

“The legislation would improve voter participation and prevent any of the phantom abuses the governor claims could happen”  Senator Joseph Vitale ( D- Middlesex) said denouncing the veto. “The bill has the same type of effective anti- fraud provisions that are currently included on voter registration forms”, Mr. Vitale continued.

In summary, the two sides should come up with a compromise where it makes it easier for people to vote and due their civic responsibility, but also at the same time, ensure that elections are fair and honest.

Links to sources:

1. North Jersey Link: https://www.northjersey.com/news/christie-rejects-bill-to-automatically-register-voters-1.1647365
2. NJ.com Voter Turnout link: https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/06/nj_advance_media_looked_at_voter_turnout_statistics_from_the_new_jersey_department_of_elections_and_found_that_overall_fewer_and_fewer_registered_voters_are_participating_in_presidential_primaries_each_cycle.html
3. Huffington Post Link: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/chris-christie-voter-registration_us_57b72874e4b00d9c3a172d64
4. New Jersey Senate Link: https://legiscan.com/NJ/text/A1944/2016
5. Slate Voter ID Laws: https://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/map_of_the_week/2012/09/voter_id_laws_a_state_by_state_map_reveals_how_much_voter_fraud_there_is_in_the_united_states_almost_none_.html