Voter registration at the Department of Motor Vehicles; opt-out voter registration. (SB1051)

Introduced By

Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria)

Progress

Introduced
Passed Committee
Passed House
Passed Senate
Signed by Governor
Became Law

Description

Voter registration at the Department of Motor Vehicles; opt-out voter registration. Provides for the electronic transmission by the Department of Motor Vehicles to the Department of Elections of certain information for any person coming into an office of the Department of Motor Vehicles or accessing its website in order to (i) apply for, replace, or renew a driver's license, (ii) apply for, replace, or renew a special identification card, or (iii) change an address on an existing driver's license or special identification card if the Department of Motor Vehicles records indicate that he (a) is a United States citizen, (b) is 18 years of age or older, and (c) at the time of the transaction does not decline to have his information transmitted to the Department of Elections for voter registration purposes. The option to decline to have his information so transmitted shall be presented at the time of one of the specified transactions with the Department of Motor Vehicles and shall be accompanied by a warning that intentionally making a materially false statement during the transaction and that voting more than once in any election in the same or different jurisdictions are both punishable under Virginia law as a felony. The information required to be transferred includes the person's full name, date of birth, gender, residence address, citizenship status, driver's license and social security number, and digital signature and an affirmation by the person that he meets all voter eligibility requirements. Upon receipt of the information, the Department of Elections is required to determine whether the person is already registered to vote. If the person is already registered to vote, the Department of Elections is required to take certain steps to update the voter's registration records. If the person is not already registered to vote, the Department of Elections is required to verify that the person meets all voter eligibility requirements and, if so finding, is required to transmit the information to the appropriate general registrar. The bill repeals the requirement that the Department of Motor Vehicles offer, accept, receive, and send voter registration applications. Read the Bill »

Outcome

Bill Has Failed

History

DateAction
01/06/2017Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/17 17102751D
01/06/2017Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections
01/19/2017Impact statement from DPB (SB1051)
01/31/2017Stricken at request of Patron in Privileges and Elections (13-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)

Duplicate Bills

The following bills are identical to this one: HB2088.

Comments

Bryant Dameron writes:

Sounds like a good way to more people registered and improve voter turnout!

Brad writes:

I strongly urge that the committee send this on to vote in the full house. This is a great commonsense policy that helps to both prevent potential voting fraud and make registration simpler. States where similar laws ave been enacted have not only seen a significant increase in voting registration but cost savings arising from a more streamlined registration process. That said, if the VA DMV were to require a fee to enact this program I would happily pay it.

Anyone looking for a thorough examination of the benefits of bills like this should look here:
https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/automatic-voter-registration