Maryland Becomes 12th State Plus District Of Columbia In Automatic Voter Registration

(image by Maryland Dexter GF via Flickr)

Maryland has become the 12th state in the U.S. to adopt automatic voter registration.

The new law will automatically register voters when they obtain a driver's license, use state social services or buy insurance on the health exchange.

Automatic voter registration will go into effect in July 2019.

From The Baltimore Sun:

Voters can decline to be registered. But advocates say the automatic voter registration program’s out-opt structure will end up getting more people registered than the current opt-in one.

Already, the Maryland Vehicle Administration and other state agencies offer residents the option of registering to vote. The new law will have state workers informing residents they will be registered to vote unless they decline. It also requires people who electronically file taxes to be offered an opportunity to register to vote.

Oregon was the first to pass automatic registration in 2016 and the result was 270,000 new voters registered and the highest voter participation of any state in the union in the last presidential election.

Anything that encourages eligible voters to take part in the democratic process is a good thing :)

More please.

Currently Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and the District of Columbia have adopted automatic voter registration.

p.s. 4 million teens turn 18 before the 2018 election.
p.s.s. 17-year-olds can register to vote if they will be 18 on or before Election Day.