Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
DRIVEN TO THE POLLS
Motor-Voter: How does Pa.’s new automatic voter registration work; what impact will it have
Gov. Josh Shapiro announced last week that, effective immediately, Pennsylvania would begin automatic voter registration when citizens obtain a driver’s license or other ID card through PennDOT.
Shapiro, a Democrat, hailed the move as a major step in his “commitment to ensuring free, fair, and secure elections,” while a number of Republicans levied accusations about voter integrity and complained the legislature had not been notified.
But in a practical sense - according to state officials’ descriptions of the matter — the new policy will only change screen displays at PennDOT service centers. It does not further alter the mechanics of registering voters and ensuring they are eligible to vote.
WHY DOES THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT REGISTER VOTERS?
Since 1993, as a result of the federal National Voter Registration Act, states have registered voters when they get their driver’s licenses or similar ID cards — a logical policy, given that the proof of identity and residence needed to get a license is largely the same as that needed to register to vote.
When obtaining a new Pennsylvania license, motorists must go to a PennDOT service center with identifying documents such as a birth certificate or passport.
"...it is abundantly clear this commonsense, nonpartisan step to securely streamline voter registration and enhance election security is within the Governor’s executive authority. The Governor will remain focused on defending our democracy and empowering eligible Pennsylvanians to vote, no matter who they choose to support.” — Shapiro spokesman Manuel Bonder
The motorist enters their information on a computer screen, and PennDOT staff verify that the documents match what was entered.
At the end of this process, the motorist sees a prompt screen asking them if they would like to register to vote. If they select ‘yes,’ they are asked additional questions — such as party affiliation - and this information is sent to the Pennsylvania Department of State and the voter’s local county election office.
WHAT DOES SHAPIRO’S NEW POLICY ACTUALLY CHANGE?
Voter registration at
PennDOT is now opt-out instead of opt-in. Motorists no longer see a prompt screen, and are instead automatically taken to the screen to enter their voter information. If they do not want to register to vote, they must cancel out of the screen.
DOES THIS CHANGE HOW VOTER ELIGIBILITY IS VERIFIED?
No — the information collected by PennDOT is still sent to the Department of State, which is ultimately responsible for maintaining the state’s voter rolls, including reviewing voters’ qualifications and purging inactive and deceased voters.
PennDOT also says its system knows if a person is eligible to vote based on
the age and citizenship information they provided for their driver’s license.
The voter registration screens do not appear for motorists who are not eligible to vote, according to PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll.
DOES GOV. SHAPIRO HAVE THE POWER TO DO THIS?
As required by the federal National Voter Registration Act, Pennsylvania’s election code specifically orders PennDOT and the Department of State to implement a system allowing for simultaneous voter and driver applications, as well as to determine the format of that system.
However, many Republicans have said that Shapiro should have deferred to lawmakers for the most recent
change, even though the legislature has conferred broad discretion to the governor’s administration in the election code.
WHAT DIFFERENCE WILL AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION MAKE?
Most data on automatic voter registration initiatives show a small but noticeable effect, given that voters are more likely to register if they are presented with it as a matter of course while doing something related.
A 2019 study of 18 states by the Public Policy Institute of California showed that such provisions boosted voter registration by around 3%, and subsequent elections showed a 1.3% increase on average in the portion of the eligible population who turned out.