The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Automatic voter registrations rise following website change
Voter registrations soared in April after the Georgia Department of Driver Services resumed signing up eligible voters by default unless they opted out.
Data provided by the department shows that 72% of citizens submitted voter registration information in April, up from 27% in March. In raw numbers, that amounts to 106,000 registration applications in April, compared with 46,000 in March.
The numbers had been down for 15 months, following the department’s redesign of its registration website in January 2021. Instead of registering drivers by default, the website required drivers to click “Yes” or “No” when asked whether they wanted to sign up.
The agency ditched the “Yes” or “No” format in March, exchanging it for an “opt-out” button for those who didn’t want to register. Now, unless they opt out, all eligible Georgians become active voters by pushing “Next” on the online form when applying for or renewing a driver’s license.
The most recent redesign of the website followed reporting by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about declines in voter registrations. The addition of the “opt-out” button came after the department was contacted by the Center for Secure and Modern Elections, a nonprofit organization that advocates for automatic voter registration.
“We immediately took action,” DDS spokeswoman Susan Sports said. “The rates of opt-out clearly reduced after the presentation changes were made.”
Georgia had drawn praise after adopting automatic voter registration in September 2016. The state’s voter rolls grew from 6.6 million that year to the current 7.7 million. Georgia is one of 22 states that offers automatic registration through driver’s license offices.
In addition to boosting voter rolls, automatic registration increases election security by verifying voters’ information — such as addresses — and matching it to a photo ID before they’re registered.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, however, is not a fan. He recently said he supports legislation to end automatic registration.
“People should be asked the question to have a choice: ‘Would you like to be registered or would you not?’ And then we would respond ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ “Raffensperger, who is seeking reelection, said during a debate ahead of the state’s May 24 primary. “That would be the update that we should have, and the General Assembly should pass that.”