Automatic voter registration in Illinois is the American way

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When Oregon enacted an automatic voter registration law in January, the boost for democracy was immediate. The number of Oregonians registering to vote per month nearly quadrupled.

Here in Illinois, the General Assembly has a chance to do the same for our state by passing a similar automatic registration law. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Andy Manar, a Democrat from Bunker Hill, is a work in progress but headed down the right road. Done right, the new law would save taxpayers money, improve the accuracy of voter registration rolls and boost voter participation — all for the good.

“Anytime you raise turnout and participation, the government will better reflect the will of the voters,’’ Manar said.

The bill, as drafted to date, provides that anyone of voting age who is obtaining or renewing a driver’s license at a Secretary of State facility will automatically be offered a voter registration form. The form will require them to attest under penalty of perjury that they are a U.S. citizen and meet all other stated voter eligibility requirements. They can opt out of the process if they wish.

Similar forms would be provided automatically at four other state agencies now empowered to register voters.

Equally important, said Abe Scarr of the Public Interest Research Group, the bill allows for electronic voter information sharing among relevant agencies so it should result in more regularly updated voter information, including more accurate citizen addresses.

Republican skeptics of the measure may fear it will simply improve the odds for Democratic candidates in local elections by boosting, in particular, the registration of younger voters, who tend to vote Democratic. Younger voters currently are the least likely to be registered or to vote.

There is truth in that. But to oppose efforts to encourage voter participation just because some folks might vote the “wrong” way is, not to put too fine a point on it, un-American. It is also an overly simplistic analysis of voting bloc behavior, certainly in Illinois.

In the November 2014 elections, the age group of U.S. citizens in Illinois that fell furthest behind the national average for voter registration was not the youngest potential voters, but people aged 35 to 44. Less than 60 percent of Illinois residents in that age group registered to vote in the election that brought us Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. That compares with nearly 65 percent nationwide.

Yes, the younger crowd – including college students whose frequent moves can make accurate voter registration information difficult – has work to do. Only 40.7 percent of Illinois U.S. citizens aged 18 to 24 were registered to vote in 2014, but that percent was far closer to the national average.

Any state lawmaker who did not sleep through civics in school knows the right way to go on this one:

Work in a spirit of bipartisanship to address any reservations with Manar’s bill and bring automatic voter registration to Illinois.

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