Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Voter Registration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee considers Secretary of State proposal to codify DMV automatic voter registration with citizenship attestation
Summary
The secretary of state's office asked for conforming statutory language for current DMV practice to auto-register or reregister an applicant unless they opt out, and to require either an applicant's attestation of U.S. citizenship or DMV proof of citizenship for automatic registration.
The committee reviewed a secretary of state proposal to change statutory language so that Department of Motor Vehicles interactions automatically register or reregister applicants to vote unless the applicant opts out, but only where the applicant attests to U.S. citizenship or the DMV has proof of citizenship on file.
Tim summarized the request and told members that the DMV and the secretary of state's office had reviewed the language; the change is intended to conform statutory text to current practice. Senators asked whether applicants would have to reaffirm citizenship on every DMV interaction. Staff explained the proposed language would require either applicant attestation or DMV proof of U.S. citizenship and would not require repetitive attestation where the DMV already has proof.
Several senators said the proposed conforming language matches current DMV practice and asked staff to incorporate the suggested statutory wording (presented in appendix 2 of the memo) into the draft bill. No objections were raised in the session transcript to adding conforming statutory language.
Staff were instructed to include the secretary of state's suggested changes so statute reflects the existing automatic registration/re-registration process as implemented by the DMV when citizenship is attested or on file.
