wOOt!! Oregon Governor Signs Sweeping Automatic Voter Registration Into Law

[babylonsister]

Oregon Governor Signs Sweeping Automatic Voter Registration Into Law
Reuters
Posted: 03/16/2015 3:39 pm EDT Updated: 28 minutes ago
By Shelby Sebens


PORTLAND, Ore., March 16 (Reuters) - Sweeping first-in-the nation legislation making voter registration automatic in Oregon was signed into law on Monday by Governor Kate Brown, potentially adding 300,000 new voters to state rolls.

The so-called Motor Voter legislation will use state Department of Motor Vehicles data to automatically register eligible voters whose information is contained in the DMV system, with a 21-day opt-out period for those who wish to be taken off the registry.

Supporters say the legislation's goal is to keep young voters, students and working families who move often from losing their right to vote. Republican lawmakers, who unanimously voted against the bill, complain it puts Oregonians' privacy at risk.

"I challenge every other state in this nation to examine their policies and to find ways to ensure there are as few barriers as possible for citizens' right to vote," said Brown, a Democrat who took office last month after John Kitzhaber stepped down amid an ethics scandal.

more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/16/oregon-voter-registration_n_6880598.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013

[sheshe2]

1. Bravo Oregon!

Thanks bsis!

[shenmue]

2. Oregon's new motto: we actually have democracy

Whee!

[Bartlet]

3. So Republincans are agaisnt this

" Republican lawmakers, who unanimously voted against the bill, complain it puts Oregonians' privacy at risk."

Somehow your medical information can be online, your credit cards can be online, you can do your banking online but this somehow puts you at risk for privacy invasion??? I know that Republicans are by definition lying pieces of shit but just once it would be refreshing if they would actually say why they vote against these measures, "We don't want more non white people voting because we can't get elected to clean sewers if they do".

[progressoid]

4. Outstanding!

[SoapBox]

5. Bravo Oregon!

Wonderful move.

Hello? Gov. Brown...can we get this in California?

[IronLionZion]

6. Republicans will always try to stop voters from voting

Every single time.

This is interesting legislation, provided people's DMV records are up to date. Many urban voters don't drive.

But the same GOP who wants to mandate driver's licenses for voting are against using DMV records because....

[AngryDem001]

9. Republican logic.

Gives one a headache.

[summerschild]

7. Oregon votes by mail.

They had a 69.5 participation rate in 2014 - and that was down from before!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/06/1342546/-Oregon-voter-turnout-was-69-5-and-Democrats-won-BIG

[Takket]

8. How does it put privacy at risk

When it is using the same data Already in the DMV system? Lol these guys are such fucking frauds.

[JimDandy]

13. Voter registration info is, and must be, public

but Oregon's DMV info might not be (many states sell their DMV info, making it 'public' for a price). So, unless drivers remember to opt out, their names, addresses and birthdates will become public.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

10. YEAH!!!!

Oh, very cool news, thanks B!

[eShirl]

11. They can do that?

out freaking standing! now let's do the other states

[Tarheel_Dem]

12. K&R

[jalan48]

14. I'm not much of a flag waver but I am proud to be an Oregonian today!

[classof56]

39. I second that!

Wavin' that flag proudly!

[DrBulldog]

43. Our Oregon flag I presume ...

... while I stopped waving the American flag the day Ronald Reagan was elected, and history has long proved me right. Thank goodness we're 3000 miles and upwind from the Washington, D.C. BS.

[2naSalit]

15. Hey!!!

That's the NEW, female governor isn't it?

WoooHOoooo!!!

She really rocks!!

[babylonsister]

17. Yes!

[Major Hogwash]

16. Wow, I'm jealous. Our state can't even get us decent drivers' licenses!

This seems like such a no-brainer.

Idaho's Republican-controlled state legislature is still playing the "you're not the boss of us" game with the federal government, refusing to change the state's license laws to conform to national standards that were drawn up 10 years ago during Bush Junior's administration!!



I wonder how Oregon will handle drivers who have had their licenses temporarily suspended.

[2naSalit]

19. That shouldn't matter...

voting is a right decreed by the federal government. Besides, does a person loose their citizenship for a misdemeanor or even a federal crime?

[Major Hogwash]

20. I'm not sure.

Our elected state officials seem to be chosen by who has the shortest straw!!!!

[2naSalit]

21. The answers to those questions are...

No. A person does not lose citizenship when convicted of a crime nor would they lose citizenship if they have their driver's license suspended or revoked.

Yikes. Take a class in civics or just look at some document that will give you info on how someone would lose citizenship, it's not an easy process and would require some offense like aiding a nation or organization who is at war with the US or spying for them or some similar offense of that magnitude.

I can't believe you aren't sure about that.

[HuckleB]

18. Woo Hoo! Indeed! Now, to get our horrific vaccination rates off the mat.

We are dead last in the US. Let's make sure our legislators know that is not acceptable!

[DrBulldog]

44. She's already started with this law that ...

... vaccinates Oregonians from Republicans ...

[Cha]

22. Great start for Oregon's new Gov, Kate Brown.. mahalo babsis! It really should be this way across

our country!

[Liberal_in_LA]

23. goodnews

[Javaman]

24. so let me ask a question...

if you don't own a car and don't have a license are you still automatically registered to vote?

[valerief]

26. How would their info be in the DMV system? nt

[Javaman]

27. my question is in regards to this...

this has pole tax hints to it, but then again, I guess you can register without getting a license.

but going to the DMV makes it easier.

but somehow that still rubs me the wrong way.

it should be easy for everyone, not just those getting a license.

[valerief]

31. It should be, of course. But how?

Employers maintain current residence info, but that'd be creepy getting registered from employers. But there's the IRS. Of course, you shouldn't have to be employed to be able to vote, just as you shouldn't have to drive to be able to vote. If you live with someone who pays the rent, and you don't work and don't drive, where would your current address be stored? You'd just have to go to City Hall to register to vote.

I think the Post Office would be a great place where people could go to register to vote. That'd be like going to City Hall except post offices are handier and have better hours (think Saturday).

I wonder how the socialist democracies do it.

[Javaman]

33. Your post office idea is good.

I understand what Oregon is trying to do, but at the same time, there are entire sections of the population that are poor, homeless or don't have the means to afford to get a license.

I have to read more about Oregon's voting rights, before I can have a fully informed opinion.

[classof56]

38. We can register online.

We can go to our county courthouse and register there. We can get a voter registration card, available in various venues, fill it out and mail it in. All that seems pretty easy to me, but the motor-voter method makes it more convenient for citizens to assure they're registered at the same time they receive or renew their licenses. Then we have vote by mail, which I've always loved. Once again, our state is at the forefront of progress in just one of so many ways.

Oregon: She Flies With Her Own Wings. Proudly!

[Javaman]

40. Great! thanks for the info...

boy, I wish we had vote by mail here.

[BlueCaliDem]

29. You don't need to own a car or have a driver's license to be registered with the DMV.

And the article doesn't say "motorists exclusively". You do know that the DMV also issues State I.D.s, don't you?

[Javaman]

30. that's fine, but what if you don't?

the issue is that while this is an easy way for people to register to vote, why isn't there just as easy way for people who don't drive or who have licenses to register to vote?

I live in Texas and I know full well how people are screwed over here by needing an ID to vote.

so while people are still able to register via their own accord, this still has hints of a pole tax because it allows those who drive and have a license and easier avenue to register.

registration to vote and it's ease to do so should be universal.

[BlueCaliDem]

32. I don't see the "poll tax" argument you're trying to peddle here.

If you don't go to the DMV to get a State I.D. or a DL, then you can still go to the DMV to register to vote and not pay a dime - at least, that's how it is in California. But we have a Democratic Assembly, Senate, and Governor.

The vast majority of young people, students, etc., want a DL the moment they turn eighteen and most need at least an I.D. so this will help get them registered to vote but also help with keeping their files up to date when they move.

I don't see the downside here, and I certainly don't see this as any "poll tax". So why do you?

[Javaman]

34. good grief.

it just hints of one.

suppose you are poor or homeless and can't afford to get a license?

that eliminates and easy route for your to register.

I fully understand what Oregon is trying to do here and I commend them, but at the same time, the very people who should have an easier access to registering to vote; still don't.

registering to vote should be easy and be universal, not just for those who have a car.

I live in Texas were ID is required to vote and it's disgusting and is a poll tax. yet the repubs in my state don't see it that way. of course.

Yes, people in Oregon still can register to vote without a license, but this allows a much easier route for those who do.

THAT'S my point.

[BlueCaliDem]

35. Good grief. You're making it sound as if the ONLY people allowed to vote have to get a DL or an ID

at the DMV, and that's not true. Oregonians can still register to vote at their local country elections office, just like before. This new law is just making it easier for the (lazy) American citizen to register to vote and to keep their information updated via the DMV.

The point you're missing is, due to this new law, an additional 300,000 more people will be registered to vote than before. That's a GOOD thing, yes? This is cause for celebration not skepticism. And it's not, as you say, a poll tax in any which way.

[Javaman]

41. I'm not missing anything. I'm just asking about the people

who don't have ready access. Why is that so hard to fathom?

someone from Oregon answered my question, now I'm informed.

I didn't make this into something it's not, I'm always concerned when various "programs" are instituted to "help" people vote.

Remember I live in Texas were gerrymandering and poll taxes are the name of the game here.

As a result I always question anything that has to do with voting, even in the most remote cases.

thankfully, my question was answered up thread by someone who lives there.

good day.

[treestar]

37. You probably still need to get the non-license ID

You can hardly turn around without needing ID these days.

[valerief]

25. Now Oregon is going to have to imprison most of its non-white males so its voter suppression

can be like the rest of America.

Angry sarcasm, of course.

Bravo, Oregon.

[BlueCaliDem]

28. Excellent! Every State should adopt this Democratic strategy!

Sometimes, people who are registered to vote via the DMV move so much that the last thing on their minds is elections, and when those elections roll around, they suddenly find themselves unable to vote and so they don't. This will ensure that they are never "booted out" of that right.

Bravo, Oregon! [URL=http://www.sherv.net/][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[marions ghost]

36. THANK YOU OREGON!!!

This will help us get such enlightened legislation to happen in other states.



!!!!!!!!!

As someone who has worked in the backward and byzantine (and criminally suppressive) area of voter registration I literally have tears of joy to see this.

Gives me a ray of hope. Maybe we can still bring democracy to America in the 21st century.

[DrBulldog]

42. Yes. Just another reason why Oregon is known as ...

... the "American Oasis".

[MadDAsHell]

45. How is this controversial?

[AtomicKitten]

46. Guaranteed democracy. I like.

[rhett o rick]

47. Bravo, Oregon. Thanks for posting. k&r. nm