Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill announced yesterday that she will ask the Legislature to consider and enact a bill making automatic registration available to voters when they go to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Currently, 30 percent of eligible voters are unregistered.
The concept is being promoted nationally by the Brennan Center for Justice as the next step in a movement to provide the same ease in voter registration that is found in modern commerce, in other words, something that can be done quickly, automatically and, preferably, online.
The measure could add 400,000 voters to the rolls in Connecticut. The Brennan Center, based at New York University, says a national law could mean as many as 50 million additional voters.
California and Oregon adopted similar laws last year, but New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie raised fraud concerns, an issue frequently raised by Republicans, in vetoing a broader voter reform bill whose provisions included automatic registration. Democratic Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have promoted the concept, Clinton in a campaign speech in which she accused the GOP of voter suppression and Sanders by sponsoring legislation.
Automatic registration legislation is pending this year in more than a dozen states.
It will be interesting to see if a proposal like this can receive full consideration in an election year, when partisan feelings are incredibly high.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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