Oregon governor signs sweeping automatic voter registration into law

[jimmy olsen]

Every state in the nation should emulate them, but they won't.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/16/us-usa-politics-oregon-idUSKBN0MC27F20150316

Oregon governor signs sweeping automatic voter registration into law
By Shelby Sebens

PORTLAND, Ore. Mon Mar 16, 2015 4:26pm EDT

(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. 

The current legislation, which Brown had pushed for as secretary of state, goes further than a 1993 federal motor voter law that required states to make voter registration available for people getting or renewing a driver's license.

Under the state law, the Oregon Secretary of State will use the DMV data, which includes information on whether a person is a citizen, to register voters, who would then be sent a postcard with information on how to opt out of registration altogether.

The postcard will also instruct voters on how to choose a political party, and those who do not choose will be registered as unaffiliated under the law.

"A one-size-fits-all approach to voter registration does not work for our most vulnerable citizens that could be endangered if their personal information is suddenly made public," Republican state Senator Kim Thatcher said in a statement.

Oregon is among a handful of states that conduct elections in a vote-by-mail system and has historically had a high voter turnout rate, above the national average.

The bill is a signature piece of legislation for Brown, who was sworn in as governor Feb. 18 after Kitzhaber resigned.

The ex-governor faces a federal criminal corruption investigation over accusations his fiancée used her role in his office for personal gain. He has denied accusations of wrongdoing.

(This version of the story corrects governor's name to "Brown" in first paragraph)
(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Alan Crosby)

[Monoriu]

I don't want to register as a voter.  I don't understand why there is a need to force me to register.  It is not like I will vote even if I am registered. 

[garbon]

"A one-size-fits-all approach to voter registration does not work for our most vulnerable citizens that could be endangered if their personal information is suddenly made public," Republican state Senator Kim Thatcher said in a statement.

At any rate, I don't really see the excitement over this.

[Valmy]

I look forward to record low voter turnouts in Oregon.

[DontSayBanana]

So how about people with multiple or seasonal residency?  Oregon's basically calling "dibs" on those voters.

[Eddie Teach]

I thought they already did this. 

[Valmy]

I thought they already did this. 

They probably have just been talking about it for awhile.  You know how these things go.

So how about people with multiple or seasonal residency?  Oregon's basically calling "dibs" on those voters.

What difference does it make? There are no incentives for having more registered voters that I am aware of.

[DontSayBanana]

So how about people with multiple or seasonal residency?  Oregon's basically calling "dibs" on those voters.

What difference does it make? There are no incentives for having more registered voters that I am aware of.

I don't see it as an incentive so much as disenfranchisement, since those potential voters are least likely to be aware it'll cause problems with their chosen home state.

Not to mention, I'd assume this is automatically going to register a voter as unaffiliated, but choosing no party is still making a party choice for the registrant, which affects eligibility to vote in primaries, gets factored into electoral map redistributions, etc.  There's no way I'd agree with this being done automatically by the state.

[Valmy]

Ah I can see that. Better stay out of Oregon.

[Eddie Teach]

I'd assume people with multiple homes just pick one state to get their driver's license in. 

[DontSayBanana]

I'd assume people with multiple homes just pick one state to get their driver's license in. 

Not necessarily.  In fact, you know who this is going to suck for?  College students.

Johnny lives in New Jersey, starts college there, is registered there.  In 2017, he transfers to a college in Portland as a junior.  For the first year, no problem, because living in a dorm isn't permanent residency.

Johnny's grades are starting to suck, because the frat brothers in the dorm are more interested in drinking than studying for their classes.  So, as a senior, he decides to get an apartment off-campus.  He's a little late to class one day and gets pulled over by the campus cops and has it pointed out to him that since he's living in Portland now, he needs to have an OR driver's license. 

He's still going back home as soon he graduates in 2018, well before the next four-year election, but now OR's grabbed his voter registration because most states have a rule that if you're residing there for more than 60 days, you have to register your vehicle in that state.

[PJL]

A similar thing is happening in the UK this year, just in time for the election. I'm sure the fact that it will probably disenfranchise the students in their uni towns is just a byproduct of the new law, and nothing to do with the LibDems trying to get an advantage (or at least reduce a disadvantage). NOT.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

[Not necessarily.  In fact, you know who this is going to suck for?  College students.

Johnny lives in New Jersey, starts college there, is registered there.  In 2017, he transfers to a college in Portland as a junior.  For the first year, no problem, because living in a dorm isn't permanent residency.

Johnny's grades are starting to suck, because the frat brothers in the dorm are more interested in drinking than studying for their classes.  So, as a senior, he decides to get an apartment off-campus.  He's a little late to class one day and gets pulled over by the campus cops and has it pointed out to him that since he's living in Portland now, he needs to have an OR driver's license. 

He's still going back home as soon he graduates in 2018, well before the next four-year election, but now OR's grabbed his voter registration because most states have a rule that if you're residing there for more than 60 days, you have to register your vehicle in that state.

That scenario is incorrect.  According to the laws of Oregon and pretty much every other state, johnny has not established a domicile in Oregon unless he is using his Oregon address as his primary address for things such as filing taxes.  If he is still using his parents' address for official purposes, he is still a New Jersey resident and a transient resident of Oregon.

This is the same situation that applies to field reps who are "temporarily"[1] assigned to an out-of-state facility.  As long as they do not take steps to establish a permanent residence, they are not required to obtain a new driver's license or change their vehicle registration.

The relevant language from Oregon law (emphasis original):

Domiciled
To be domiciled in Oregon, a person's primary home is in Oregon and the person intends to remain in Oregon or, if absent, to return. If a person's home has never been in Oregon, they cannot be domiciled.

Note: Simply owning property in Oregon doesn't necessarily mean that you are domiciled in Oregon.

[1] I have known field reps who were on-site for years without changing residency.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

Not to mention, I'd assume this is automatically going to register a voter as unaffiliated, but choosing no party is still making a party choice for the registrant, which affects eligibility to vote in primaries, gets factored into electoral map redistributions, etc.

In Texas, if you are registered as unaffiliated you can vote in any primary you want, at which point you become registered with the party whose primary you voted in.

[Berkut]

"A one-size-fits-all approach to voter registration does not work for our most vulnerable citizens that could be endangered if their personal information is suddenly made public," Republican state Senator Kim Thatcher said in a statement.

At any rate, I don't really see the excitement over this.

The most exciting part is the additional fodder the Republicans are giving us for concluding that they are a bunch of racist assholes.