Can I Register To Vote With My Gun License

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla will fill in for Kamala Harris in the Senate as she assumes her vice presidential duties.

Alex Padilla:In a majority of states, new voters are able to obtain a rifle quicker than they're able to cast their showtime ballot.

PolitiFact's ruling:Mostly True

Here's why: Shortly after high-profile mass shootings in Georgia and Colorado, the Senate Judiciary Commission held a hearing on gun violence. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., used an illustration with voting rights to make the example for stricter gun control.

"In a bulk of states, new voters are able to obtain a burglarize quicker than they're able to cast their get-go ballot," Padilla said on March 22. "It seems to me nosotros have our priorities entirely backwards when it comes to this, when we make it easier to buy a gun than we practice to cast a ballot."

Some critics disagreed. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, tweeted that Padilla's statement was "demonstrably, laughably false."

"Detect me the Dem that says "information technology'due south abusive to require a photo ID to buy a gun! They ALL say that nigh voting," Cruz tweeted.

Equally support, Padilla's office referred PolitiFact to statistics from the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures; the pro-gun-control Giffords Law Middle to Prevent Gun Violence; and an assay by the Washington Post.

When we reviewed these sources, we found Padilla's assertion to be largely supported past the evidence, though we plant some nuances.

More than:Day later deadly Colorado shooting, Ted Cruz fights Democrats' push for gun control

What are the state laws?

In his analysis, Philip Bump of the Washington Mail service compared every state and the District of Columbia on how chop-chop a resident could secure a rifle and bandage a ballot later registration. (Bump noted that policies for purchasing a handgun are different, but Padilla specifically mentioned rifles at the hearing. A rifle is a type of "long gun," which is a firearm with a longer barrel that is meant to be held with both hands.)

In 13 states, going through either procedure is equally fast: In Vermont, for case, it'southward possible to purchase a rifle without a waiting period, and you tin can register to vote on Election Day itself.

Three states — Illinois, Minnesota and Washington — brand information technology faster to cast a ballot after registering than to secure a rifle. (There are some complications in some states, such as rules applying to certain types of rifles but non others, Bump noted.)

But the majority of states — 34 states plus D.C. — have a longer look time to cast a ballot than to obtain a burglarize, according to Bump's analysis.

Co-ordinate to Giffords, some states have waiting periods for firearms generally, including rifles. For instance, in Hawaii, the waiting period is fourteen days, while in both California and D.C. it takes ten days. In Florida, the law is 3 days or however long information technology takes to complete a background check, whichever is longer. Just 2 states have waiting periods specific to rifles — Minnesota at seven days and Washington country at ten days.

Every bit for voting, registration is mandatory in every country except for North Dakota. However, the terminal twenty-four hour period one tin register before casting a ballot — in upshot, the "waiting menses" to vote — varies by state.

Co-ordinate to data compiled by the group Vote.org, some states similar Alaska and Arkansas require registration thirty days prior to Election Day, while in other states like Colorado yous can register on Ballot Day if y'all are going to vote in person.

The fastest voting procedures are in strength in 17 states and D.C., where a resident can annals and vote the same day, said Danielle Lang, co-director of voting rights and redistricting for the Entrada Legal Centre.

"So there is substantially a waiting period for voting in all other states," she said. "You have to programme to vote ahead of time and can't practice it on a whim the day of."

The lesser line, then, is that almost two-thirds of states take a faster process for obtaining a gun than for existence able to vote. That's a "majority," as Padilla said.

More:Boulder shooting suspect's gun looked like a rifle. But it'southward a pistol. Experts worry information technology's helping people brim gun laws

Context for the comparison is needed

While Padilla is right on the numbers, the elements of his comparing — guns and voting — are not entirely parallel.

Bump noted in his article that voting "necessarily involves the land, while a gun purchase doesn't. 1 can buy a burglarize from a friend, for example; you lot can't vote with a friend. That past itself tends to lower the benchmarks required" for clearing a new gun owner.

In improver, election bookkeeping is focused on the smooth functioning of a specific outcome on a specific date, said Edward B. Foley, an Ohio State University police force professor who specializes in election law. The buy of a gun isn't.

"Once a background cheque has been done on a potential gun owner, is at that place any reason for the government to continue runway of the gun owner's identity?" he said. "A gun ownership 'registry' would be different than a background check."

Our ruling

Padilla said, "In a majority of states, new voters are able to obtain a burglarize quicker than they're able to cast their outset ballot."

By the numbers, this is accurate: Almost two-thirds of states have a faster timetable for obtaining a gun than for casting a ballot later on registration.

Obtaining a gun and casting a election aren't exactly parallel activities. An ballot is an outcome on a specific twenty-four hour period that requires some degree of accelerate bookkeeping by country officials to be prepared. Gun purchases exercise not require accelerate piece of work to fix for a deadline.

With that clarification, we rate the statement Mostly True.

Sources

Alex Padilla, statement to the Senate Judiciary Commission, March 23, 2021

Washington Post, "Which is easier in your state: Ownership a rifle or voting?," March xviii, 2021

Giffords Police Center to Foreclose Gun Violence, "Waiting Periods," "Minimum Age to Purchase and Possess," "Background Cheque Procedures," accessed March 24, 2021

Guns to Carry, "Gun Laws By Land," accessed March 25, 2021

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, "Does a client have to be a sure age to purchase firearms or ammunition from a licensee?," September 15, 2015

National Burglarize Clan-Institute for Legislative Action, "Maine Gun Laws," April 20, 2020

Minnesota Legislature, "2020 Minnesota Statutes," accessed March 25, 2021

Vote.org, "Voter Registration Deadlines," accessed March 26, 2021

Associated Press, "Mass shooters exploited gun laws, loopholes before carnage," March 25, 2021

CPR News, "The Firearm The Accused Boulder Shooter Bought Looks Similar a Rifle, But It's Regulated Similar a Pistol," March 24, 2021

Email interview with Matthew Weil, managing director of the Elections Project at the Bipartisan Policy Heart, March 24, 2021

E-mail interview with Danielle Lang, co-director of voting rights and redistricting for the Campaign Legal Center, March 24, 2021

Electronic mail interview with Edward B. Foley, Ohio Country University law professor who specializes in election law," March 24, 2021

Email interview with Tess Whittlesey, spokeswoman for Alex Padilla, March 24, 2021