HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration said starting Tuesday it is making it easier for someone to register to vote when they are getting or renewing a driver's license in Pennsylvania.
Under the new format, prompts on the computer screens in driver's license centers will take the user to a template to register to vote. That leaves it up to them to choose not to register. Previously, prompts on the computer screen first asked the user whether they wanted to register to vote.
Twenty-three other states and Washington, D.C., already have varying models of what is called "automatic voter registration," according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
From now on in Pennsylvania, if you’re an eligible voter getting or renewing your driver’s license or ID card at the DMV, you will be automatically registered to vote unless you choose to opt out.
Pennsylvania is an automatic voter registration state. — Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) September 19, 2023
The Shapiro administration said it does not need legislation or regulation to make the change at driver's license centers.
There are currently 8.6 million registered voters in Pennsylvania, according to information from the state Department of State. More than 10 million Pennsylvanians out of 13 million total are at least 18 years old, the minimum legal age to vote, according to U.S. Census figures.
States have been required to offer voter registration at driver's license centers since Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act in 1993.
When running for Governor, I made a commitment to bring automatic voter registration to Pennsylvania — the birthplace of our democracy.
On this National Voter Registration Day, I’m making that promise a reality. pic.twitter.com/7hSnHLDKAg — Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) September 19, 2023
Researchers from the Public Policy Institute of California, the University of Southern California and the University of California-Berkeley concluded in a 2021 study that automatic voter registration increased registration by several percentage points in states where it was in effect, and boosted the number of people actually voting by more than 1%.
loki8481 on September 19th, 2023 at 16:05 UTC »
Democrats once again rigging the system by... allowing people to vote more easily. /s
d4nowar on September 19th, 2023 at 15:55 UTC »
We've had this in Oregon for years and it works well alongside our vote by mail system.
WhileFalseRepeat on September 19th, 2023 at 15:40 UTC »
As I understand it, states have been required to offer voter registration at driver's license centers since Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act in 1993 (with an exception for some states which have no voter-registration requirements or election-day voter registration).
So, this seems like a natural next-step and a logical choice to me. Every citizen should have the opportunity to vote (and be given that opportunity with as much ease as possible).
I'm reminded of some quotes...
Automatic registration helps provide each citizen the ability to participate in our elections and the protections that might come from that.
Bravo Pennsylvania!