When so many of our rights and values are under attack every day under this administration, it is nice to have some good news.
This voting rights story comes to us from Massachusetts.
Keep in mind this happened because the Massachusetts state legislature (both their Senate and House) are overwhelmingly Democratic.
Both houses of the Massachusetts legislature had passed their Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) bill, and yesterday their governor (who is Republican), signed it into law, making them the 14th state to enact AVR. The first to do so was Oregon in 2015, and voting rights activists have been making a lot of headway and building momentum recently.
As for who can get Automatic Voter Registration next, well, you can affect that!
The Daily Kos has an updated map of where the different states are on the issue of Automatic Voter Registration:
Map via Daily Kos Elections
If getting Automatic Voter Registration in your state is something you are passionate about, Brennan Center has two resources you need to get started.
First, read The Case for Automatic Voter Registration. Whether you want to talk about it with friends or with your state legislator’s staff, be able to talk convincingly about the subject.
Then, check out their handy list of states that have introduced legislation (with the bill numbers for easy reference) for automatic voter registration. When you call your state legislators, you’ll get a better result if you are educated about your state’s specific bill.
If you want to get more involved with this issue, I recommend you reach out to your local chapter of the League of Women Voters. One of their central missions is voter registration, and your local League will either have actions you can participate in or be able to find resources for you to get more involved.
Getting more citizens registered to vote, and then voting, is crucial for our democracy.
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