WA gov signs universal voter registration law

[DonViejo]

Source: The Hill




BY REID WILSON - 03/20/18 10:30 AM EDT

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) on Monday signed a package of measures aimed at increasing voter participation that would create potentially hundreds of thousands of new voters — even in a state that already has one of the highest turnout rates in the country.

Perhaps the most consequential measure is one that would require the state Department of Licensing to automatically register citizens obtaining a state driver’s license or identification card to vote.

-snip-

Inslee said as many as a million Washingtonians who were eligible to register in 2016 didn't register to vote. “Democracy is served when more people participate,” Inslee said at the bill-signing ceremony at a Seattle-area high school.

Among the other measures Inslee signed Monday: A bill to allow voters to register on Election Day itself, and another bill to allow 16- and 17-year olds to pre-register to vote.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/379282-wa-gov-signs-universal-voter-registration-law

[ffr]

1. Darn. Not fast enough. K&R

Second to REC.

[Spouting1horn]

2. This is great.

Are undocumented citizens allowed to get a Driver's License in Washington state?

[jpak]

4. They are automatically registered as Democrats

[trotsky]

13. And given 100 ballots to submit in the next election!

[Perseus]

7. Automatically register "CITIZENS"

Department of Licensing to automatically register citizens obtaining a state driver’s license or identification card to vote.

[lagomorph777]

8. Welcome to DU. Say hi to Internet Research Agency for me.

[Aristus]

10. ...

[LanternWaste]

12. Hola mi pequeo amigo.

Ciertamente pareces conocer tus puntos de conversación.

Disfruta tu estancia...

[jpak]

3. For a second I thought the OP said WV

That would be news....

[mountain grammy]

15. Me too..I swear, my heart skipped a little there.

[montanacowboy]

5. That's My Governor

Go Jay!

Fantastic Presidential Material

[StevieM]

9. This is what I thought for a long time. I was really hoping he would run.

On so many issues he seemed perfect, as least based on what I was looking for.

But now there is a bill on surrogacy that passed in Washington that is concerning to me. I worry greatly about abuses in the system and I am not happy he signed it.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/feb/09/surrogate-mothers-could-be-paid-more-than-their-ex/

[Canoe52]

6. We in Washington have a high turnout rate because we have mail in ballots!

No long lines at the polls, no standing in the rain or snow. We can mail the ballot in, or put it in a drop box. My drop box is in a strip mall parking lot a mile away from my house.

[pandr32]

11. Mail in ballots make voting convenient

You sit down and go over everything when you have the time: kids are in bed and the house is quiet. Pop the ballot in the mail and then wonder about the rest of the country.

[PaulX2]

16. Lots Of People In WA Have No Permanent Address To Mail To They Should Be Able To Walk In And Vote

Anywhere.

Rent has doubled, and thousands are constantly on the move.

We need to make it easy for them to vote if they are legal.

Easy as possible.

I think the same day may address this, but there needs to be lots of places to go vote.

[pandr32]

22. Good point

[LisaM]

19. I intensely dislike mail-in voting. People had the option before, anyway.

It's not just that I miss voting in person (which I do), I just seriously dislike the concept that people need to pay to vote. If the ballots were franked, I still wouldn't personally like it, but I'd feel a little better about it.

It hasn't really increased turnout in Seattle, which has been quite pathetic in some smaller elections (I don't know if it's an outcome of mail-in ballots, but we seem to have a lot more small elections than we used to). Turnout for a city election a year or so ago was the worst since the depression.

I also don't like how it means that if something happens to a candidate, there's no redress (a la the Wellstone case).

Finally, the other thing they don't tell you about is spoiled ballots. The rate of ballots that aren't counted is much higher than when people voted at the polls. Sometimes there is no way to fix it, other times, it's just a mis-matched signature or something that you can go in and fix (for instance, once a friend of mine got divorced and changed her name back and they told her her signatures didn't match!) but everyone has to check a stub to see if their vote actually counted (meaning that if you don't have access to a computer, you can't check). They also don't keep the mail drops open at places like the main post office open late on election day (they close at 4:30) and in the whole city of Seattle, there are very, very few ballot drop off boxes.

The system needs a whole lot of fixing. Also, in Washington state, you could always request a mail-in ballot if you wanted it. There was no obligation to vote in person.

[pandr32]

23. All important concerns

[OMGWTF]

14. EVERY State Needs Mail-In Voting

[Ligyron]

18. It's the only way to go, IMHO.

Welcome to DU!

[grantcart]

17. Inslee for President

[samnsara]

20. ...maybe the high voter turnout rate is cuz we have all mail in ballots and weeks....

..to get them in.

Yay for Jay!

[DiverDave]

21. And the deplorables lose

What little minds they have left.