Senate Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs (PSM) - chair: Will Espero, vice chair: Rosalyn H. Baker

Thursday, February 6, 2014, 2:00 p.m. Room 325

Testifier: Sue Irvine, Legislative Committee, LWV of Hawaii

Click here to view SB2380

Chair Senator Will Espero, Vice-Chair Senator Rosalyn H. Baker, and Committee Members: The League of Women Voters of Hawaii would like to comment on SB 2380 relating to automatic voter registration. The League of Women Voters strongly supports efforts to register potential voters. However, SB 2380 requires any eligible citizen obtaining or updating a driver’s license or state identification card, be automatically registered to vote. As it stands, this bill is coercive and may not comply with the National Voter Registration act that requires state agencies to offer voter registration as an option. The League strongly supports the intent of this bill, but potential voters must have the option of declining to register to vote when they come to a state agency for other business. Rather than mandating that potential voters be registered in this manner, it would be better to ensure that the voter registration process at our department of motor vehicle offices is encouraged and easily accomplished. We urge you to consider our comments on this bill. Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony.