"For backers of the perennial push to authorize same-day registration, the numbers are proof that the state should be doing things differently."

"With those changes, this bill will ensure that Bay Staters -- who may otherwise have been prevented from casting a ballot by the coronavirus pandemic -- can exercise their fundamental right to participate in our democracy," said Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts.

"Election Day registration will help protect the fundamental right of every American to have their vote counted," Wilmot told a gathering of volunteers who visited the Statehouse on Tuesday to lobby for the bills. "It's a fail-safe to allow eligible voters to cast their ballots. It has been working well for 40 years across the country."

Good government groups say a lack of clear policies on conflict of interest involving election officials in Massachusetts means the lines between voter information and campaign activity is often blurred.

"The Ethics Commission has ducked this issue for many years," said Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause of Massachusetts. "So in this case a slap on the hand is better than turning the other way, which is what has happened for a very long time."

Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause of Massachusetts, said any spending on behalf or in opposition to a political candidate should be disclosed to the public.