In a time chock-full of various types of nasty voting and voter registration obstructionism (often deeply mired in racism and classism) as well as voter and voter registration apathy, I am feeling wonderfully proud of my home state of Oregon today. My faith in new OR Gov. Kate Brown continues to grow as well.
HB 2177 passed in state Senate on March 5th, and yesterday Gov. Kate Brown moved the process forward by signing it. The system created by this initiative will automatically register voters using data from DMV-- so keep your info updated with DMV, people!
The system will also cover residents who do not drive but who have or seek out a general identification card from DMV. Overall, this system will register 300,000 new voters in Oregon soon. For a state with a population of about four million, this is absolutely fantastic news.
Further info on how it will work HERE
How will this shift in the process of voter registration affect politics in Oregon, you ask? Wonderfully, I believe, for Democrats, though there is some debate:
Judging by the votes in Legislature - where every Democrat but one supported the bill and all Republicans voted no - there's certainly a widespread perception that automatic registration will benefit the Democrats.
On the surface, this seems logical. Democrats tend to do better in presidential elections when turnout is highest and more people register to vote.
Paul Gronke, a political scientist at Reed College, said younger and less-affluent voters are more apt to favor Democrats. They also are more often likely to be unregistered, in large part because they are more likely to move frequently.
But David Becker, director of election initiatives at the Pew Charitable Trusts, said polls show that non-voters appear to have similar views as those who do vote.
The advantage, he said, goes to those who work the most effectively to persuade like-minded voters to cast a ballot. He noted that when Colorado boosted access to the system by adopting a vote-by-mail system, many thought it would favor Democrats. But Republicans there chalked up several key victories in 2014.
In Oregon, though, it may be Democratic-leaning groups who have the resources to more effectively work the new registrants.
A number of groups allied with the Democrats - ranging from organized labor to environmental activists - already have more robust get-out-the-vote campaigns than their Republican counterparts.
The Democrats have "been very effective at linking these different coalition partners together," said Greg Leo, a consultant who has worked closely with the Oregon GOP. "They've learned to fight together and Republicans are still fighting each other."
Several groups that backed the measure are looking forward to shifting their resources from voter registration to getting people interested in voting.
"It will be a game changer for us because we will be freed up more to talk about issues," said Nathan Howard, interim executive director of The Bus Project, a Portland-based group that works with young progressives.
(Reference is same link posted above).
For more info on the overall process of getting this passed, signed and rolled out:
From the AP
From The Oregonian
No matter what, I'm thrilled to see Oregon be a pioneer in this way. I hope to see this as a national initiative at some point, or at least to see many other states follow suit quickly. My glass raised to the Oregon state Senate Democrats and Governor Kate Brown!
