A state lawmaker is renewing his push for automatic voter registration for eligible citizens when they obtain or renew a driver’s license or state ID. State Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, said the measure would remove barriers to the ballot box while saving money for state and local government. “There are many, many reasons to implement this in Illinois,” Manar said at a Statehouse news conference this week.
In addition to making it easier to register and saving money, the measure would improve the accuracy of the system and reduce fraud, said Manar.
Currently, eligible voters in Illinois currently can register or update their registration at driver’s license facilities. Under the proposed law, similar to one that took effect in Oregon on Jan. 1, registration would be automatic unless they opt out. The information would be sent to local county clerks’s offices, which would handle the actual registration.
Full Article: Push on for automatic voter registration | Government-and-politics | pantagraph.com.