It is September, the start of voter registration season. This is the time when people start to ask the question: How can we get out the youth vote?

There is a simple action the New Jersey Legislature could take to improve voter registration rates among young people: Pass A5701/S247 legislation allowing people to register to vote on Election Day.

I’d like to think we’re fairly capable people. New Jersey has world class academic, scientific and cultural institutions. I believe we can chew gum and walk at the same time but Senate President Nicholas Scutari doesn’t share the same ‘glass half full’ view of our collective cognitive abilities, otherwise he would get out of the way and finally let us have same-day voter registration. Same-day registration is the standard in 21 other states. If Idaho can handle it, we can, too.

When my family and I moved from Texas to New Jersey last fall, we breathed a sigh of relief.

No longer did we stress about the assault weapons owned by our neighbors, access to women’s reproductive health care, and voter suppression, including arbitrary waiting periods to vote after registering. Wait. Did we miss something here? New Jersey also has an arbitrary waiting period? We thought for sure we had left voter suppression behind when we left the South.

Advocates and lawmakers gathered at the steps of the State House demanding legislators to pass a bill that would allow same-day voter registration. The bill would allow voters to show up at the polls on election day and vote by a provisional ballot. Currently, you would have to register to vote 21 days before the election. Sen. Jon Bramnick is the only Republican co-sponsor of the bill.