MSNBC Airs Wild Call to Eliminate Voter Registration Entirely on Live TV [WATCH]

Elie Mystal, justice correspondent for The Nation, argued during an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Monday that all voter registration laws in the United States should be abolished.

His comments come amid ongoing national debates over election security and voting access ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Mystal claimed that once an individual meets eligibility standards, such as age, they should be allowed to vote without having to register.

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He argued that the practice of voter registration carries racial and anti-immigrant implications and hinders Democratic voter turnout.

“We could eliminate all voter registration laws. You see, when Democrats get in charge we try to protect voting rights. We don’t make voting easier,” Mystal said.

“Now I’m all for voter eligibility requirements, we might disagree with what those requirements should be. But let’s say that there should be an age limit to vote, I might say 16, you might say 18, but I’m not gonna say 8. So we’re gonna agree that there should be voter eligibility requirements, but once you’re eligible, why do you have to preregister? Why is that even a thing?”

Mystal added that voter preregistration did not exist at the country’s founding and suggested it developed post-Civil War as a response to the migration of freed African Americans and European immigrants.

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“It wasn’t a thing in this country at the founding, we didn’t have voter preregistration in 1787, we didn’t have voter preregistration in 1821, we only started having voter registration generally speaking after the Civil War,” he said.

“Why do you think that is? It’s because a bunch of freed African slaves were migrating up north and all of a sudden New York was like ‘we need some registration up in here.’ A bunch of immigrants from Europe, [from] Ireland and Italy were coming to New York, people were like ‘oh, we need some registration in here.’”

Historical records and data from the Institute for Rapid Government indicate that most U.S. states adopted formal voter registration processes between the 1870s and World War I.

The changes were largely implemented to manage growing urban populations and prevent electoral fraud and confusion.

During his segment, Mystal also appeared to reference the 2024 presidential election, in which Kamala Harris lost to President Donald Trump.

He claimed that millions of eligible voters did not participate because they were not registered.

“We have to expand voting rights so that the 90 million people who sat on the couch and sat out this last election between democracy and fascism so that maybe they have a little bit of an easier time getting off the couch and come participate in the democracy,” he said.

Democrats have consistently opposed voter ID laws and requirements for documentation proving voter eligibility, especially following concerns about election integrity raised by Republicans after the 2020 election.

Among the 19 states won by Harris in 2024, 18 do not require photo identification to vote. Colorado and Washington conduct elections entirely by mail.

In recent years, Democratic lawmakers have also voiced support for allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections.

In 2022, the Washington, D.C., city council passed the D.C. Noncitizen Voting Act, allowing illegal immigrants to vote in local elections.

House Democrats opposed a Republican-backed effort in Congress to block the law.

Mystal has previously made controversial statements about the United States and its founding.

During an appearance on The View in March 2022, he referred to the U.S. Constitution as “kind of trash.”

Two months later, he said the Founding Fathers were “racist, misogynist jerk faces” due to their failure to recognize abortion rights in the 18th century.

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