AG Maura Healey Hits Gov. Baker On Same-Day Voter Registration, Won't Say Whether She'll Run For His Job

Attorney General Maura Healey said neighboring states around Texas are seeing a massive influx of women seeking abortions and other health care, creating a ripple effect of restriction to health care that is "blatantly in violation of Roe v. Wade" and harmful to women.

"People are going to Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, California — the ripple effects are significant," she said. "Hopefully the court and the courts ... they're going to have to listen to the stories and the personal experiences of patients."

Healey — along with nearly half of the country's attorneys general — is backing the Department of Justice's challenge to Texas' abortion ban in court. She spoke on Boston Public Radio Tuesday, calling the abortion law an erosion of democratic rights.

"Eight in 10 Americans support safe and legal abortion," she said. "There is overwhelming support for Roe in this country, and yet we end up in this situation" where a Republican-controlled legislature can erode the rights of millions of citizens.

Healey drew parallels between Texas' abortion law to voter restrictions, noting that the state's lawmakers also recently signed restrictive voting measures into law.

On same-day voter registration

When asked by host Jim Braude about same-day voter registration in Massachusetts, Healey criticized Gov. Charlie Baker's opposition to it.

Baker told Boston Public Radio last week he does not support same-day registration due to how complex it would be to establish, saying he would prefer municipalities and the state to only have to focus on counting votes on election day, not registering people to vote, too. He cited how the Registry of Motor Vehicles forwards information to cities and towns for incorporation into their voting rolls.

"Of course we should have same-day [registration]," Healey said. "This is an area I absolutely disagree with [Baker] on.

"It isn't that complex. It's not complex. This isn't hard stuff," she said. "It disappoints me, frankly, that in Massachusetts we don't have it — it seems to me we should have the greatest laws on the books and means for people to vote. We should be top in the nation, and some reforms have been made — I applaud that — but we should do more and we certainly need same-day registration."

On running for re-election — or for Governor

Host Jim Braude asked Healey whether she's running for re-election, to which she responded "I'm evaluating all of that."

Braude pressed Healey further on whether she will run governor.

"My position on that hasn't changed at all, it's something I'm considering and thinking about," she responded.

Healey also discussed the FBI's failure to investigate U.S. gymnasts' reports of sexual assault, the worsening conditions at Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue — commonly known as Mass & Cass — and took calls from listeners.