LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has announced that automatic voter registration is officially launched in Michigan as of this month.
According to an official press release, automatic voter registration requires Secretary of State branch staff to ensure that Michigan citizens are automatically registered to vote when they apply for or update their driver’s license or personal ID cards unless they are ineligible or don’t want to be registered.
The State began implementing the policy on September 9th.
“Making voter registration automatic for eligible citizens means more Michigan residents will have access to participating in our democracy,” Benson said. “I look forward to this both strengthening our democracy and ultimately helping transactions move more quickly in branch offices by eliminating extra paperwork.”
Early data suggests that the new policy is already increasing registered Michigan voters. In the first two weeks, voters have been registered on an average of almost 5,000 per business day.
The press release notes that the new policy is the result of the 2018 election, where Michigan voters approved the Promote the Vote constitutional amendment.
The amendment contained measures to make voting more accessible and secure, including a provision that requires the automatic registration of citizens to vote at branch offices unless the citizen declines.
Citizens can also opt out of being automatically registered if they choose.
Online voter registration will be available following the November 2019 election, as well as automatic voter registration for mail-based transactions coming soon.
