California Governor Jerry Brown enacted legislation to automatically register millions of residents to vote utilizing records kept with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
According to the new law, each person that goes to the DMV to either obtain a driver’s license or to renew one will be registered to vote by default. A resident would be required to opt-out of registering to vote, should they wish.
“Citizens are currently forced to opt-in to their fundamental right to vote through registration,” said California’s Secretary of State Alex Padilla. “We do not have to opt-in to other rights. We do not have to opt-in to free speech or due process. The right to vote should be no different.”
According to ThinkProgress:
Automatic registration is expected to particularly benefit voters of color. Currently, only 62.8 percent of Latino and 50.7 percent of Asian-American residents are registered in California. Latinos, who recently surpassed whites to become the largest demographic group in the state, have the lowest participation rate: just 28 percent of them cast ballots in 2014.
“As we’ve seen, our country is at a crossroads, and the next election will present us with a choice between old-fashioned anti-immigrant bigotry and an opportunity to make this country more inclusive,” said Cristóbal Alex, president of the Latino Victory Project. “Imagine what would happen if we passed this law, registering 4 million California Latinos to vote in one fell swoop. That’s enough to dramatically change the landscape of the next election, forcing candidates to focus on issues that affect the Latino community.”
For more on this, read the article from ThinkProgress titled: “BREAKING: California Will Automatically Register Millions Of Voters.“
