In a letter dated October 3, 1984, Rav Moshe Feinstein, z”tl, urged the Jewish community to register and vote. He stated: “A fundamental principle of Judaism is hakaras hatov—recognizing benefits afforded us and giving expression to our appreciation. Therefore, it is incumbent on each Jewish citizen to participate in the democratic system which guards the freedoms we enjoy. The most fundamental responsibility incumbent on each individual is to register and to vote.”

Accordingly, Jews have a halachic obligation to register and vote. The late John Lewis once said, “The right to vote is precious, almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool or instrument we have in a democratic society. We must use it.”

In a true democracy, one would think that making the act of voting easily accessible to eligible United States citizens should be a given, and that efforts to expand voting rights would be supported. Unfortunately, state legislatures throughout the country have been working to restrict the right to vote since the 2020 election.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, in 2021, 19 states passed 34 laws making it more difficult for U.S. citizens to vote. Thankfully, New Jersey has moved in the opposite direction, and last year, Governor Murphy signed legislation that permitted in-person early voting, which enables registered voters to cast their vote at designated polling places prior to Election Day.

While allowing in-person early voting was a welcomed expansion to our voting rights, the New Jersey State Legislature must do more to enable citizens to easily participate in the democratic process. One critical step that our legislators must take to remove an unnecessary barrier to voting in the 21st century, and truly ensure that all citizens of New Jersey are able to exercise their right to vote, is to pass a law adopting same-day voter registration.

Nineteen states and Washington, D.C. already allow people to register and vote on Election Day. Studies have found that same-day voter registration laws increase turnout. It is true that same-day voter registration increases turnout between 3.1 and 7.3 percentage points among young voters ages 18 to 24, and that Black and Latinx voter turnout is often higher in states that offer same-day voter registration than similarly situated states that don’t. Same-day voter registration will make it simple for all communities throughout New Jersey to cast their votes and be heard.

Currently, there is a bill A1966/S247 that was introduced in the New Jersey State Legislature that will allow people to register to vote at their assigned polling place on Election Day, and at an office where a mail-in ballot may be issued during the period beginning 45 days before the election and ending at 3 p.m. the day before the election. Under A1966/S247, same-day voter registrants would need to provide valid identification, proof of residency and have their eligibility verified for their votes to be counted.

In New Jersey, for a bill to become law, it must first be posted for a vote by the leaders of the State Legislature, and Senate President Nicholas Scutari, a Democrat, has yet to be persuaded that same-day voter registration should be enacted. In a March 29, 2022 article in The Star Ledger, Scutari was quoted as saying, “Someone’s got to convince me why people have the sacred right to vote and they can’t decide they’re going to do it until that day,” and “Right now, I’m not willing to post it.”

In an April 3, 2022 op-ed, which he co-authored with sponsors of the bill, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy wrote: “There is no reason why New Jerseyans who are eligible to vote, who want to make their voices heard, and who show up on Election Day to fulfill their civic duty should be turned away—not because they moved and forgot to update their address on file, not because they were mistakenly removed from the rolls and not because they did not complete in advance the administrative task of registering.”

It is time for the New Jersey Jewish community, which has a halachic obligation to register and vote, to raise our collective voice to impress upon the New Jersey State Legislature that A1966/S247 should be adopted as law to further prevent voter disenfranchisement. I would suggest writing and calling Nicholas Scutari to encourage him to make adopting A1966/S247 a legislative priority. His email address is [email protected] and his senate office phone number is (732) 827-7480.

Josh Fine served as a member of the Borough Council of Highland Park from 2015 to 2020 and is a member of the Middlesex Black-Jewish Coalition.