By DAVID HERBERT

As memories of the long lines and registration snafus of the 2008 election fade for most Americans, election reform advocates are desperately trying to build support for legislation that would automatically and permanently register all eligible voters.

Voting experts testified before the Senate Rules Committee on March 11, making the case to a very receptive Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., that the nation's voter registration system is antiquated and puts too much burden on citizens to ensure they're on the rolls, leaving millions disenfranchised.

That same day, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law released a report [PDF] targeting dysfunctional voter registration systems. "Unprocessed applications, mistakes on the voter rolls and confusion at the polling place left thousands of voters frustrated, slowed long lines on Election Day and prevented eligible citizens from voting across the country," the report said.

Jonah Goldman, director of the National Campaign for Fair Elections, a joint effort of the Lawyers' Committee and the Voting Rights Project, argues that changing voter registration from an opt-in to opt-out system will have direct and indirect benefits: shorter lines on Election Day, millions in administrative savings for cities and states and the end of controversial groups like ACORN that help register voters but are susceptible to low-level fraud.

"While there are no silver bullets, this maybe is a bronze bullet," says Goldman, who testified at the March 11 hearing.

Congress is moving toward action. The House Subcommittee on Elections will convene the first of several hearings on registration reform on March 26, and passing legislation this session is said to be a top priority for Committee Chair Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.

Goldman and other voting rights advocates are pushing for other reforms too, including federal laws against voter suppression. Four percent of calls to an Election Day hotline set up in part by the Lawyers' Committee related to voter intimidation, and there was plenty of anecdotal evidence of voter suppression tactics before Election Day and on Nov. 4 itself. Reformers also want to expand early voting, which saw an explosion of interest in 2008.