With Unanimous Bipartisan Vote, Automatic Voter Registration Bill Passes Massachusetts Senate

Commonwealth Poised to Become 14th State to Adopt AVR

BOSTON, MA – With a unanimous, bipartisan vote of 38-0, the Massachusetts Senate today passed Automatic Voter Registration (H. 4667).

La legislación AVR, presentada originalmente por la senadora Cynthia Creem y el difunto representante Peter Kocot, establecería un sistema para que los ciudadanos elegibles se registren automáticamente para votar cuando interactúen con una agencia estatal como el Registro de Vehículos Motorizados o MassHealth. Aproximadamente 680.000 votantes elegibles de Massachusetts actualmente no están registrados.

“Automatic Voter Registration will make voting more accurate, more secure, and more available to all. That’s good for democracy, for election security, and for voters,” said Pam Wilmot, Executive Director of Common Cause Massachusetts, which led the broad-based coalition pushing for the bill. “Utilizing existing technology to modernize the voter registration process just is basic common sense, and we are thrilled that all 38 Senators agreed with us.”

The legislation has enjoyed broad support in both legislative chambers. It passed in the House on June 27 by a bipartisan vote of 130-20. Attorney General Maura Healey and Secretary of State Bill Galvin are also supporters. The legislation is endorsed by 65 organizations including environmental, civil rights, consumer, community, labor, and good government groups.

After the House concurs and both the Senate and House enact the bill, it will go to Governor Charlie Baker for signature.

Trece estados y el Distrito de Columbia han aprobado el registro automático de votantes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Nueva Jersey, Oregón, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington y Virginia Occidental. Un informe Basándose en datos de Oregón, Vermont y Colorado, se concluyó que el costo de implementar AVR en Massachusetts sería mínimo.

“Si bien la supresión de votantes está aumentando a nivel nacional, estamos orgullosos de que Massachusetts esté liderando el camino hacia la expansión del acceso a las papeletas electorales”, dijo Carol Rose, directora ejecutiva de la ACLU de Massachusetts. “El registro de votantes debe ser simple, accesible y seguro, porque una mayor participación de los votantes fortalece nuestra democracia”.

“Elogiamos la aprobación por parte de la legislatura del Registro Automático de Votantes, una reforma que ampliará el electorado a aquellos que con demasiada frecuencia se ven marginados”, señaló Beth Huang, directora ejecutiva de la Mesa de Votantes de Massachusetts.

“Nuestra democracia es más fuerte cuando se escucha la voz de todos. Este proyecto de ley ayudará a involucrar a los casi 700.000 ciudadanos elegibles pero no registrados en Massachusetts, lo que fortalecerá la democracia y dará un ejemplo positivo para otros estados”, dijo Jonathan Cohn de Progressive Massachusetts.

Meryl Kessler, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, added:
“The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts applauds today’s vote by the Massachusetts Senate. Bringing AVR to our state will remove real obstacles to political participation, ensuring that more voices can be heard.”

“Today we thank the Massachusetts Senate for approving an Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) bill as a new avenue to increase voter participation and accessibility to Massachusetts’ most vulnerable communities,” said Cheryl Clyburn Crawford, Executive Director of MassVOTE.

“If there was a World Cup for election reform, passing Automatic Voter Registration would definitely be a huge goal. Today, everyone who cares about democracy scored,” said Executive Director of MASSPIRG Janet Domenitz.

The Election Modernization Coalition is led by Common Cause Massachusetts, the League of Women Voters or Massachusetts, MASSPIRG, MassVOTE, the Massachusetts Voter Table, ACLU of Massachusetts, and Progressive Massachusetts. A full list of member organizations can be found here, and more information about AVR can be found here.