July 30, 2018: Thirteen states plus the District of Columbia have enacted automatic voter registration policies. In these states, eligible voters are automatically registered to vote whenever they interact with government agencies such as the Department of Motor Vehicles.
With automatic voter registration, eligible voters are registered by default, although they may request not to be registered.
In 2015, California and Oregon became the first states to enact automatic voter registration policies.
Footnotes:
- California Legislative Information, "AB 1461," accessed March 25, 2017
- Connecticut Office of Legislative Research, "Automatic Voter Registration in Connecticut," December 21, 2017
- Council of the District of Columbia, "B21-0194 - Automatic Voter Registration Amendment Act of 2015," accessed March 25, 2017
- Brennan Center for Justice, "Automatic Voter Registration," April 17, 2018
- Oregon Legislative Assembly, "House Bill 2177," accessed March 25, 2017
- Rhode Island General Assembly, "H 5702," accessed July 20, 2017
- Vermont General Assembly, "H. 458," accessed March 25, 2017
- Washington State Legislature, "HB 2595 - 2017-18," accessed May 17, 2017
- West Virginia Legislature, "House Bill 4013," accessed March 25, 2017
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is the author of "Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System," "In Search of Self-Governance," and "The People’s Money: How Voters Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt." Read more reports from Scott Rasmussen — Click Here Now.
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