So in addition to advocating restoration of the full Voting Rights Act and calling for at least 20 days of early voting nationwide, Hillary Clinton also called for automatic voter registration for every citizen.
Yes, please. I want this too.
Until reading about her speech, I’d forgotten that I wrote about this very issue in mid-March, when Oregon’s governor signed a universal-registration bill into law.
As you may recall, a universal registration measure (H.458) was introduced in Vermont this year by Rep. Chris Pearson.
H.458, not exactly as illustrated.
Why Transportation Committee, you might ask? Well, since universal registration would piggyback on the driver registration system, at least in part, there are some software issues to sort out at the DMV before we can proceed.
I hope we do so, and as soon as possible. Seems to me that combining registrations would remove a barrier to voting, and would also help kill the chimera of “voter fraud” so feared by conservatives. Because if you register to vote and to drive at the same time, it’s all wrapped up in a pretty solid identification system, isn’t it?
When Rep. Pearson’s bill is finally de-encased like Han Solo in “Return of the Jedi,” I look forward to Vermont Republicans getting behind the measure, since it would make voter fraud even more difficult as well as get more people involved in our democratic process.
Which is what we all want. Right?
Why, I’m just sure as sure can be that the Republicans will back universal registration.