Same-day Registration Under Attack in Mont.

Three western states -- Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho -- and one in the Midwest (Minnesota) allow same-day registration at polling places. The process works well in Wyoming, if my experience at the polls during the past two election cycles are any measure. In 2004, I volunteered as a pollwatcher for the Democratic Party. In 2006, I worked as an election judge. This past November, with five precincts in the Lions Park Community House in Cheyenne, I saw no problem with walk-in registration. In Wyoming it gets even more complicated during the primaries as we allow people to switch parties to vote on that day and even switch back once they've finished. So, fellow Democrats who wanted to see Barbara Cubin go down in flames to her Republican challengers went over to the dark side for a few minutes. Alas, not enough did, as Cubin won handily and went on to beat Dem challenger Gary Trauner by a mere 1,000 votes.

In Montana Nov. 7, some 4,000 people registered at the polls in Montana and voted. Democrat Jon Tester beat Conrad Burns in a close race for U.S. Senate. The Dems won the State Senate and almost claimed the House, but settled for being in the minority by one seat.

Now Montana's House Republicans want to do away with same-day registration because it's too difficult to manage, or so they say. Five Repubs introducted the bill, which was drafted in late November, when election results still smarted. It cleared the House Friday on a party-line vote is now on its way to the Senate. Forward Montana is sponsoring an e-mail campaign to make sure the Senate stops this nefarious bill before it becomes law.

Don't you just hate sore losers?