That statistic is part of an op-ed by Ellison and the chief sponsor of a companion bill, Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, at the Huffington Post.

Another statistic they offer: The top five states for 2008 voter turnout — including Minnesota and Wisconsin — all have same-day registration.

Ellison and Feingold urge the District of Columbia’s city council to adopt reforms today that would allow voters to register at the polls.

The new federal legislation, introduced last week, has not yet attracted co-sponsors beyond its original Democratic backers. They include Minnesota Reps. Tim Walz and Jim Oberstar and Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

Also quoted in the piece is Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie: “EDR [Election Day Registration] is much more secure because you have the person right in front of you — not a postcard in the mail. … We have 35 years of experience with this.”

Click here for information from Ritchie’s office on how to register to vote on Election Day in Minnesota.

Photo: Chris Steller, Minnesota Independent

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison has introduced a bill that would extend Minnesota-style, same-day voting rights to all eligible Americans in federal elections.

The Same Day Registration Act would let people register at the polling place on Election Day rather than requiring registration weeks or months ahead of time, as most states do.

Same-day registration is already law in seven nine states, including Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa, plus the District of Columbia. (North Dakota is the only state to do without voter registration altogether.)

Common Cause claims those states see voter-turnout rates as much as 7 percent higher than others; a 2009 Cal Tech/MIT study (pdf) confirms that “election day registration can increase turnout significantly” and doesn’t increase costs or fraud.

It’s an Upper Midwest thing, it seems. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin is the bill’s sponsor in the U.S. Senate, where Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar and Iowa’s Tom Harkin are co-sponsors. In the House, two of five co-sponsors are Minnesotans: Tim Walz and Jim Oberstar. So far, the bill’s sponsors are all Democrats.

In a statement, Ellison said,

Minnesota routinely leads the nation in voter turnout – usually over 70 percent. … Enacting a National Election Day Registration law would do for the nation what same day registration has done for our State – give a voice to all who want to vote.

That 70 percent figure applies to years with presidential races. In off-year elections, turnout has run about 10 percentage points lower.

Ellison’s statement also quotes Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie calling same-day registration a “no brainer” and claiming it is more secure than other states’ systems that require registration in advance, because “you have the person right in front of you — not a postcard in the mail.”

In the U.S. Senate election recount between Al Franken and Norm Coleman, Minnesota showed the nation flaws in its absentee-voting system — some involving the mail. Other states saw major controversies over voter registration in last year’s election. One was Colorado, where the secretary of state purged 44,000 voters from the registration rolls before Election Day, in defiance of court orders. A few hundred managed to cast provisional ballots that were counted.

Ellison’s bill comes just as millions across the country prepare to go to the polls next Tuesday — that is, as long as they’ve registered beforehand, in states where that’s required.

In Minnesota, officials expect half a million voters to turn out. But who knows? A few million more could decide to exercise their franchise on the spur of the moment, and if they haven’t registered yet, no biggie.

Here’s the key language in Ellison’s bill (H.R. 3957):

[E]ach State shall permit any eligible individual on the day of a Federal election and on any day when voting, including early voting, is permitted for a Federal election (A) to register to vote in such election at the polling place using a form that meets the requirements under section 9(b) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993; and (B) to cast a vote in such election.

The bill’s first stop in the House in the Committee on House Affairs. None of the members of that committee come from states with same-day voter registration.

In some cases, the Secretary of State’s Polling Place Finder also provides a list on candidates who will appear on local ballots, along with a map showing where to vote. Minnesota has same-day voter registration for people with basic proof of residency.

The GOP poll-challenger training sesssion will take place four times through Sunday:

Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m. at RPM Headquarters
Thursday, Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m. at RPM Headquarters
Saturday, Oct. 31 at 10 a.m. at RPM Headquarters
Sunday, Nov. 1 at 1 p.m. at RPM Headquarters

Elsewhere in Minnesota headlines this morning …

ST. PAUL: Bachmann hard on ACORN, easy on birthers. She asks Gov. Pawlenty to investigate the community-organizing group but won’t diss people who doubt President Obama’s American birth. [Associated Press; CNN]

SAUK RAPIDS: Did he need a photo ID to file? Then how do we know it’s the real Republican state Rep. Dan Severson who is eyeing DFLer Mark Ritchie’s secretary of state post? [St. Cloud Times]

ST. PAUL: Mayoral rivals debate. Republican Eva Ng attacked Mayor Chris Coleman on taxes and fees, which she’d freeze “right now.” [St. Paul Pioneer Press]

MINNEAPOLIS: “Nothing like a pissed-off woman.” That’s how city council candidate Lennie Chism explains away an assault charge as a setup. [Star Tribune]

ST. PAUL: One in five, baby. A state report agrees with Jim Morrison of the Doors: That’s the proportion of Minnesota banks and credit unions on a watch list for failure. [Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal]

MINNEAPOLIS: “It’s like the Metrodome is an obsessed girlfriend, refusing to let the Twins leave.” Sports-romance analogies: You can’t live with ‘em, you can’t live without ‘em. [WCCO-TV; @DeRushaJ]

Bringing the suit were Minnesota Majority employees Jeffrey Davis and Daniel McGrath; Republican legislators Tom Emmer, Mark Buesgens and Matt Dean; chairman of the Minnesota Republican Liberty Caucus David FitzSimmons; self-described “Republican activist and campaign worker for about 25 years” Jean Sanford and Carver County Republican activist Cindy Pugh.

The Supreme Court said that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case.

“Here you have a major U.S. Senate race being decided by just a few hundred votes, and along comes our case citing the fact that the secretary of state has been unable to account for tens of thousands of voters in the 2008 election,” Minnesota Majority president Jeffrey Davis said in a press release. “You can see why the court might not want to touch this case with a 10-foot pole.”

But the court said the plaintiffs “neither describe nor identify any wrongful acts, omissions or errors of respondents concerning a specific election as required” by Minnesota statute. It added that they requested “no relief specific” to the 2008 election, noting that even if they had tied it to the election, the window for contesting the election has passed.

Ritchie praised the decision. “On behalf of all dedicated election officials who help administer the best election system in the country, I thank the Minnesota Supreme Court for its careful and judicious review of this lawsuit and its decision to dismiss it,” he said in a statement this on Thursday. “We agree with the court’s findings that Minnesota Majority neither described nor identified any wrongful acts, omissions or errors, and we concur with the court’s decision to reject the lawsuit.”

Through its new site, RitchieFacts.com, the GOP claims Ritchie is a partisan, that he thought Norm Coleman would try to win the U.S. Senate election at any cost, and that Ritchie “partnered with liberal attack blog” The Uptake, the nonprofit news site that offered free, live web video of the U.S. Senate recount proceedings.

GOP deputy chair Michael Brodkorb — who, prior to starting his current job, leveled some of the same charges at his own attack blog, Minnesota Democrats Exposed  — said in a statement Thursday, “Over the next 16 months, we are going to hold Mark Ritchie accountable for his actions, and we are going to make sure Minnesotans know the truth about his record.”

GOP party chair Tony Sutton, also in a statement, said, “With secretaries of state from all over the United States convening in Minneapolis this week, I hope they aren’t looking to Mark Ritchie for leadership. I want the visiting secretaries of state to know the truth about Ritchie’s record. Mark Ritchie is not a subject matter expert on fair and open elections.”

One top Republican, Politics in Minnesota’s Sarah Janecek might take issue with that. In naming Ritchie 2008 “Politician of the Year,” she wrote, “We dare anyone to find one public statement made by Ritchie during the recount that was partisan in favor of Franken. It cannot be done, because Ritchie didn’t do it, and we — and many others — were carefully looking for one. Our historically partisan Democrat Secretary of State proved to be a nonpartisan statesman.”

Despite the word “facts” in the GOP website’s name, nearly half of the sources at RitchieFacts.com are from opinion pieces; the most-cited source is the much-criticized Wall Street Journal editorial, “Mischief in Minnesota?”

The DFL offered a response to the attacks today.

“The eight-month Senate election that just wrapped up showed that Minnesota’s elections are transparent, accurate, and fair. Minnesotans are indeed proud of our elections system and with the election officials entrusted with conducting it,” said DFL party chair Brian Melendez. “Our state and its citizens are facing real problems, but our election system isn’t one of them.”

Melendez continued, “As the Republicans were spinning out their smear campaign, Secretary Ritchie organized a day of democratic participation and brought citizens together with elected officials to take on some of the difficult issues facing our state and nation,” he said. “And while the Republicans focus on petty attacks, our DFL leaders are focused on jobs, on health-care reform, and on helping Minnesota’s communities and citizens cope with the consequences of Governor Pawlenty’s unallotments.”

Read below what the document says, or see the full document, seal and all, along with a cover letter, in this pdf.

Certificate of Election for Six-Year Term

To the President of the Senate of the United States:

This is to certify that on the fourth day of November, 2008, Al Franken was duly chosen by the qualified electors of the State of Minnesota a Senator from said State to represent said State in the Senate of the United States for the term of six years, beginning on the 3rd day of January, 2009.

Witness: His excellency our governor Tim Pawlenty, and our seal hereto affixed at Saint Paul, Minnesota this 30th day of June, in the year of our Lord 2009.

Image: Minnesota Independent

Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s recently announced plans to axe state refunds for political contributions of $50 or less has set off an email stampede, as candidates urge donors to give before the program dies July 1.

In the $2.7 billion of unallotments he unveiled on Tuesday, Pawlenty included a complete cutoff of $10 million in state funding for the cash-back campaign donation program. The program has no official name in state law, but the state Department of Revenue calls it the Political Contribution Refund Program.

Republicans get more money through the program than their rivals, but Pawlenty still dissed it as welfare for politicians. On his WCCO-AM radio program this morning Pawlenty allowed, “It’s a nice program,” but he said it was a lower priority than schools and health care.

A growing number of candidates and both other major parties have jumped on the short-notice deadline to make pitches via the Internet for refundable donations. (UPDATE: Republicans, remarkably, have joined them.)

In a Web solicitation, Independence Party Chair Jack Uldrich characterized the cut as hacking off the IP’s arm.

Democrats have used less vivid imagery but are communicating urgency all the same, with email subject lines like “Time is running out,” “Just 14 days to  get your refund” and “Campaign Alert!”

In particular, those aiming to replace Pawlenty made sure to whack him as they made their appeals for fast cash. Here’s former State Sen. Steve Kelley:

By cutting off the Political Contribution Refund Program, Tim Pawlenty is impacting your voice in the governor’s race.  Over 90,000 Minnesotans use the PCR program annually to make a refundable contribution to the candidate of their choice. … Before the program expires, make a refundable $50 contribution (or $100 for couples) to a Governor who will put education first!

Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner was even more pointed in her email plea:

In addition to making cuts that will disproportionately affect the poor, children and the elderly, the Governor also proposed eliminating a program that helps ordinary Minnesotans participate financially in the campaigns of their choice. … While Tim Pawlenty and other Republicans can afford to run their campaigns with large donations from PACs and wealthy individuals, we would prefer to run ours with money donated from all levels of givers.

Gaertner had a ready metaphor for donors unfamiliar with the soon-to-be-eliminated program:  ”Think of your contribution as a temporary loan to the campaign.”

State Auditor Rebecca Otto, also a DFLer, curiously made a pitch for donations of as little as $5 rather than the maximum refundable amount of $50: “Can you afford to support my work with a monthly donation of $5, $10 or $15?” her email asked.

Gary Goldsmith, executive director of the state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, told the Minnesota Independent that his department doesn’t recognize pledges or plans as “contributions” under the refund program. He said donors or candidates with questions about the program’s phase-out should consult online memos from the campaign-finance board (pdf) and the Department of Revenue (pdf).

Pawlenty told his radio audience today that he’s heard more guff from legislators on the donation-refund program than any other unallotment item. Maybe that’s because it’s the one they can still do something about.

Here are some samples of appeals from candidates and parties, including those mentioned above plus state Rep. Paul Thissen and state Sen. John Marty (both gubernatorial candidates), and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie. Click on an image to enlarge. If you have seen or received other similar communications from candidates, please forward them to MnIndy.

Susan Gaertner

Steve Kelley

John Marty

Rebecca Otto

Mark Ritchie

Paul Thissen

Independence Party

DFL Party

Ritchie’s email message carried a tagline identifying it as coming from his campaign.

Below, comments from the courthouse in St. Paul hosting the Senate trial that now shows Franken has a 312-vote lead.

Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, responding to a reporter after court adjourned today, about Coleman’s contention that his training of local officials was inadequate :

I’ll be interested to hear from the (election trial judges). … They appear not to have believed a word of it.

Coleman staffer Tom Erickson, approaching reporters after Ritchie finished speaking:

What did he have to say? “Nothing to see here — everything is fine”?

Franken attorney Marc Elias:

It is a sense of relief that it’s over, at a personal level.

Elias, in response to a reporter’s question:

I think the only way I’ll have a chance to talk to (U.S. Supreme Court) Justice (Antonin) Scalia about equal protection in a year is if we meet in a diner … in Bethesda (Md.).

Coleman attorney Ben Ginsberg, responding to Pioneer Press reporter Rachel Stassen-Berger, who asked first “What did your client do wrong to lose votes in a trial he started?” and then “Sorry, Ben, do you have anything other than rhetoric to back that up?” after he claimed that counting more ballots would give his client a winning margin:

If you did the reporting and looked at where the ballots were from …

Stassen-Berger, after Ginsberg finished speaking to reporters:

You want me to do the research? Give me the numbers!

Ginsberg on Coleman’s whereabouts:

He had a previous engagement. He’ll be … around.

Election-contest trial Judge Denise Reilly, looking down the bench at her colleagues, Judges Elizabeth Hayden and Kurt Marden, after they again leaned their heads together to share whispers:

(Reilly didn’t say anything but continued to stare in their direction after the kibitzing session ended.)

Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann, after opening the last absentee-ballot envelope:

That’s it.