By Bob Katzen

The Election Laws Committee gave a favorable report to legislation that would establish a system under which eligible voters would automatically be registered to vote when they interact with a state agency like the Registry of Motor Vehicles or MassHealth.“We’re very excited to see Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) take the next step towards passage in our state,” said Pam Wilmot, Executive Director of Common Cause Massachusetts which is the leader of the Election Modernization Coalition. “We are grateful to the legislators who share our passion for giving all Bay Staters a voice in elections, and for making our election system more accurate, secure and inclusive by supporting AVR.”

Supporters note that an estimated 680,000 eligible Massachusetts voters are currently not registered. The said that in Oregon, the first of ten states to implement this system, more than 230,000 voters registered in its first six months, and more than 265,000 inaccurate registrations were updated.