New Citizen Voter Registration Blocked

Who gains the most from this? Probably the current Republican administration.

On July 19th a San Jose Mercury News article entitled "County Voter Drive Blocked" (http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9931998) noted that the Department of Homeland Security was making it harder for new citizens to register to vote.

The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters had found an easy way to make good use of slack time during naturalization ceremonies to fill out paper work so it could be submitted immediately after each person became a citizen. The Department of Homeland Security decided it was not appropriate to prepare such paperwork ahead of time.

Hmmmm....

I disagree with Homeland Security here. We should work to make our processes more efficient and effective rather than putting unnecessary bureaucracy in the way.

U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Salinas, said "It's ironic that the agency tasked with promoting citizenship in our country would throw up obstacles to voting, one of the fundamental actions of a citizen." "DHS should be trying to make the process easier, not harder."

I fully agree. Registering to vote should be an automatic part of becoming a new citizen for everyone.