Why is the United States ranked 20th out of 21 established democracies around the globe in voter participation? Only Switzerland has lower voter turnout than in U.S. presidential elections.

On November 4, 2008 we saw the highest number of voters go to the polls since l964 - 133.3 million, 66 percent of the 201.5 million who were eligible. What's the record on voter registration within the eligible number? There was a concerted effort to increase voter registration above the 150 million in 2004. The Obama campaign reached out successfully to millions of young voters. Yet, the bottom line is that in most other democracies, over 80 percent of voters take part. In our neighbor, Canada, the turnout reaches 70-75 percent. Why are

they far ahead of us? One basic answer is that the United States is one of the few countries that requires citizens to register to vote. That may be a startling fact, but in most democracies, the government is pro-active in making sure all voters are on the electoral rolls. They have installed a form of automatic and permanent registration for citizens who

reach voting age. Voila! When one turns eighteen, if that is the required age, one automatically is registered to vote.

Let's take an objective look at our system of having one day, the first Tuesday in November as our official Election Day. How did this come to be? Congress originally scheduled federal elections on Tuesday because that worked best for farmers and Sabbath observers. That's the tradition and it has continued into the 21st century. Does that decision formed in an agrarian society make sense in our complex industrialized nation? What adjustments have already been made to give citizens more opportunity to vote? And what changes would increase citizen participation at the polls? Finally, what have been the opposing forces for increasing voter participation versus suppressing voter participation?

We saw in this past presidential election, that in 32 states that have installed early voting or no-excuse absentee voting, the result was a record number of votes cast. Nationwide, the estimate is that one third of all registered voters had voted before the official Election Day on November 4. There were long lines in certain states including Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana where voters waited three, four and six hours at times. On some days in the rain. There were almost no complaints. It was a remarkable phenomenon to witness. States that do not have early voting include New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maryland. It would appear that the Southern and Western states, California, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada, are ahead of the Northeast in offering early voting. Oregon has mailin ballots only.

Expansion of the location for voting is another way to increase participation. In Orange County, California, people could vote from the windows of their cars, ATM style. Early voting was very popular in Nevada. In grocery stores across Las Vegas, shoppers found voting terminals along side of slot machines as well as the fruits and vegetables they came to buy. Some voters had certain qualms about whether their early vote would really count. Glynetter Prather, 44, who cast her ballot in Florida for Barack Obama, said, "I was afraid if I voted early our votes wouldn't be counted. I mean there's enough time to lose these ballots. And I hate to say that, but that's Florida's signature." Rhonda Wilcox, 83, who voted for John McCain , in Arizona, was secure in the system when she said, "I thought I might as well do this. I wasn't about to change my mind."

Certain states that instituted election day registration saw close to ten percentage higher registration than other states. Motor voter registration has also increased numbers in those states that have chosen to have motor vehicle offices serve as a source of voter registration as well. The length of the ballot is another factor that affects voter participation. Certain states such as California have pages of initiatives and referenda on the ballot that turn voters off when they receive their sample ballots in the mail.

Researchers have found that lower voter education level and lower voter income level are factors that lead to lower voter participation. Same day registration and voting has been seen to increase their participation. Early voting with more days to choose from and less time constraints on workers would be important improvements for all Americans. Changing election day from Tuesday to the weekend would eliminate job conflicts for millions of voters. Historically, in state legislatures, the Democratic party has been in favor of expanding voter registration in contrast to the Republican party''s positions. Democratic candidates have drawn more heavily from low income and lower-educated voters. It is worthy of note that in this past election, Barack Obama drew heavily from the higher educated and higher income voters as well across the country.

Each state legislature decides whether early voting occurs, or whether motor voter registration forms are available at Motor Vehicle offices. The U.S. Congress has the power to change Tuesday in November as the official election day for federal elections to a weekend. Congress began discussing the adoption of early voting nationwide last year. A bill was drafted by Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, with cosponsors including Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. The bill was tabled after receiving little support from Congressional Republicans. It is likely to have a better chance for passage with Democrats now holding increased numbers in Congress and Barack Obama as President. Senator Hillary Clinton is working on legislation to overhaul how eligible voters are registered. She said, "A system of automatic registration, in which the government bears more of the responsibility for assembling accurate and secure lists of eligible voters is a necessary reform."

In the aftermath of the "historic election" on November 4, it is imperative that we take a hard, objective look at the way we vote and the low number of participants we have compared to the rest of the democracies in the world. Is this the best the United States can do for its citizens? Rosemary Rodriguez, chairwoman of the federal Election Assistance Commission, answered that question after the election when she said, "The single most important thing that Congress can do right now is create universal voter registration, which would mean that all eligible voters are automatically registered." She continued, "We also saw incredible success with early voting, and requiring states to adopt it would help as well."

The winning motto of this election was "CHANGE." The American people voted for it overwhelmingly. Voter registration and early voting are two areas of change that would greatly expand voter participation in future elections. It's about time the United States caught up to the rest of the world's democracies and offered all eligible citizens fulfillment of their right to vote.

Joyce S. Anderson's articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer and other national publications. She is the author of "Courage in High Heels," "Flaw in the Tapestry," "If Winter Comes" and "The Mermaids Singing." She can be reached at JSAWrite@aol.com.