A measure to automatically register eligible residents to vote is close to becoming law in Hawaiʻi.
When residents apply for a driver’s license or identification card, they can choose to become registered to vote in the state.
Senate Bill 2239 would replace the current “opt-in” system with an “opt-out” one. In the proposed system, during the application process, eligible residents would automatically be registered to vote — unless they explicitly decline registration.
This week, state lawmakers moved the measure through its conference committee hearing, one of the last major hurdles of the state's Legislative session.
It’s a win for voting advocates, who say it can improve voting access when there are widespread efforts to restrict it.
“At a time when we're seeing access to voting and voting rights under assaults from the administration and across the country, and numerous states protecting voter rolls from the administration, we thought it was important to at least weigh in on this from a voter rights perspective,” said Josh Frost, policy advocate for the ACLU of Hawaiʻi. “It's one more threshold that folks don't have to worry about or think about when it comes to access to voting.”
Advocates also said it could improve voter participation in a state notorious for its low voter turnout.
SB 2239 now goes to the floors of both the House and the Senate for a final vote.
