Registering to vote in Pa. would require no effort under proposal
(Harrisburg) — Voter registration is now nearly automatic in Oregon, and a Democratic state senator wants Pennsylvania to follow its lead.
Anyone who did business with the state would be automatically registered to vote, under State Senator Vincent Hughes’s proposal.
Doing business could mean anything from renewing a driver’s license to registering for classes at a state-related university to applying for professional certification.
“We will not allow anyone ever again to deny the citizens of Pennsylvania the right to participate in what is now, should have always been, and hopefully will always be their birthright,” says the Philadelphia Democrat.
Hughes has not officially put forth a proposal yet, but says it will also include an opt-out option for those who don’t want to register to vote.
“If they choose to opt out, they’ll get an opportunity to opt out by returning a form back to that body,” he adds.
Oregon recently passed a nearly identical bill, though critics say they’re concerned about data security when the state passes the information along to elections boards.
Hughes says he wants to increase voter participation, and hopes his bill will help encourage more people to get involved.
Last year, a state judge ruled Pennsylvania’s voter I-D law was unconstitutional, a decision that then-Governor Corbett decided not to appeal.