Governor Jerry Brown Signs Auto Registration Bill Into Law Today
October 10, 2015
Rock the Vote applauds California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) for signing a bill into law today that will automatically register eligible citizens to vote when they interact with the DMV. According to the Brennan Center, there are 6.6 million eligible but unregistered citizens in California, and this measure could dramatically boost California’s registration rate, which was ranked 38th in the country in 2012.
“Our democracy is strongest when all eligible voters are empowered to participate. Implementing automatic voter registration is an effective ways to boost participation, especially when it comes to young people across California,” ”said Rock the Vote President Ashley Spillane. “We thank Governor Brown for his leadership and bold action to increase voter participation in the state of California, and we hope other states will follow his lead in making registration and voting easier for young people.”
The results from a statewide survey, released by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) in June of this year, found that 69% of California adults favor registering all eligible citizens to vote when they go to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
California is the third state in the country to pass automatic registration and the second state to enact it. This law simplifies the registration process by putting the onus on the government to register eligible voters. California is the largest state to adopt automatic voter registration.
In March of this year, Oregon became the first state to enact automatic voter registration, and the New Jersey’s legislature passed a bill this past June that Gov. Chris Christie has yet to sign.
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About Rock the Vote
Rock the Vote is the largest non-profit and non-partisan organization in the
United States building the political power of young people. Fusing pop culture,
politics, and technology, Rock the Vote works to mobilize the millennial voting
bloc and the youth vote, protect voting rights, and advocate for an electoral
process and voting system that works for the 21st century electorate. Since
1990, Rock the Vote has revolutionized the use of pop culture, music, art and
technology to inspire political activity. Now, for almost 25 years, Rock the
Vote has pioneered ways to make voting easier by simplifying and demystifying
voter registration and elections for young adults.
Rock the Vote has run the largest voter registration drives for young people on
record during the past six Presidential elections. In 2008 and 2012, our
on-the-ground efforts, online organizing, and cutting-edge tools and
technologies made us the largest non-partisan voter engagement campaign in the
nation. All of these efforts have resulted in Rock the Vote processing nearly
seven million voter registrations, bringing millions more to the polls, and
becoming a trusted resource for young people, government agencies, and
technological innovators passionate about political discourse and engagement.
See more information here.
If you couldn’t guess, we love it when young people vote. That’s kinda our thing. So when we heard that a proposed bill in California would let 16-year-olds pre-register to vote, we were like “awwwww, yeah!”
Enter state Senate Bill 113. This is the kind of bill you want to ask to the prom. It’s like your Sweet 16 and your first spin behind the wheels of your dad’s convertible all rolled into one beautiful package.
What is it about this bill that has us nostalgic for high school?
The language of the bill says: “This bill would lower the minimum age for purposes of submitting an affidavit of registration pursuant to these provisions to 16 years of age.”
Basically, you can pre-register to vote at 16 when you get your driver’s license. Short. Simple. Easy. Kind of a no-brainer. We’ve said this before, but registration is one of the greatest barriers that young people face when trying to vote for the first time, and California has the opportunity to make voting more accessible by lowering these barriers.
The Golden State has already taken some major steps towards making voter registration easier for its 38-odd million residents. The state switched over to online voter registration in 2012, which significantly reduces the hassle and confusion of mailing in a voter registration form. And just as a shameless plug, our online voter registration tool is now integrated with California’s—so you can register to vote in Cali without moving an inch! The existing law also lets young people pre-register to vote when they turn 17. Not bad!
We’re pretty jazzed about Senate Bill 113 and we are excited to see California continue to make voter registration easier for young people! So far, 2014 has been a pretty good year for young voters. Let’s hope the future of voting is as sweet as our Sweet 16s were.
Polls are open in
California from 7am to 8pm
Montana from 7am (or 12pm) to 8pm
Iowa from 7am to 9pm
Alabama from 7am to 7pm
Mississippi from 7am to 7pm
New Jersey from 6am to 8pm
New Mexico from 7am to 7pm
South Dakota from 7am to 7pm