Every voter must qualify to vote in the United States. The qualifications may differ between states subject to legal challenges in the judicial branch, but there are two Constitutional requirements: 1) Is one a citizen of the United States, and 2) is one of age (currently, 18) to vote? Before 2000, the answers were unambiguous. However, many states have allowed voters to vote in primaries prior to the age of 18 if they turned 18 by the general election date. In addition, many municipalities have authorized non-legal citizens to vote in their elections. Some have even allowed them to hold elective office.
Voter registration, at this point, will be defined in such a way that is slightly different than the current method of description, as this module pertains to the permanent voter identification. Keeping in mind most people move from one jurisdiction to another in both permanent and temporary manners, it is vital that individuals are assigned a unique identifier that they would use no matter which jurisdiction (state or precinct) in which they vote.
Current methodology incorporates registering in the precinct in which their primary residence is located, but there are usually no major processes in place to ensure current registration qualification. There are routinely deceased people or people have moved out of the jurisdiction, sometimes for decades, that show up year after year. The proposed method would incorporate checks to ensure that registration is valid only at legal jurisdictions.
Therefore, each voter, regardless of current residence, age, marital status, or other indicators that currently are a focal point for voter register rolls, will be assigned a permanent, unique Voter ID (VID) that will be assigned to him. This number is private, known only to the assigning agency as well as the voter.
An individual must provide the following information (as a minimum) to obtain his Voter ID: Name, current address (or non-domicile (homeless) status), and affidavits to his qualifications for age and citizenship status. Please note: The VID itself is NOT a physical document, as the VID is simply supplemental to actual registration in a specific election. (Affidavits, such as driver’s licenses or passports, are used in the process of validating a voter to obtain a VID.)
Finally, it must be noted: voter registration is voluntary. If a voter does not wish to remain on a voter registry for any reason, it is his right to do so. A voter may proactively remove his name and all related information from the voter database, verified by the registration clerk in his county either in person, or through registered USPS or authorized delivery or messenger service. Once deleted from the registry, the voter’s name will be severed, and the voter’s VID will be retired from use in any jurisdiction (if state compact is in effect). If a voter then wishes to reregister, then the voter will obtain a new VID.