Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to sign the new California New Motor Voter Act which means that starting in 2016, “every adult citizen in the state who gets a driver’s license, renews a license, gets a state identification card, or fills out a change of address form with the Department of Motor Vehicles will be registered to vote — unless he or she declines to be registered.” Andrew Prokop of Vox also reports that this bill removes many previous obstacles to voting such as cutting off voter registration a month before Election Day. Democrats are overwhelmingly for the bill with Republicans just as adamant against it.
According to media strategist Shawna Vercher, “This is a game changer for the 2016 election. California alone is poised to add 7 million voters to their rolls. Can you imagine if this becomes a trend around the country?” Author and commentator Anita Finlay says, “It can be argued there are lots of people who do vote who are not informed and vice versa. Automatic voter registration should be looked at as an opportunity to get the citizenry of both parties more engaged in the process so they make informed decisions.”
Is this new development good or bad? Who does it help or hurt?
Join our lively debate and weigh in with your thoughts on our latest edition of Dare We Say.
