(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) The battleground state’s 2023 policy resurfaced right before the end of the election year because people were concerned that it could be used to interfere in the upcoming election.
The Federalist reported that Gov. Josh Shapiro, D–Pa., was criticized in September 2023 when he announced that the state had implemented automatic voter registration for “eligible Commonwealth residents obtaining driver’s licenses and ID cards at Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) driver and photo license centers.”
Pennsylvania now has automatic voter registration.
There are about 1.6 million Pennsylvanians who are eligible to vote but aren’t registered.
This is a safe, secure, and streamlined way to be able to get them to register and participate in our democracy. pic.twitter.com/0R2PgfUZXm
— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) September 19, 2023
Before the switch to automatic voter registration, the state offered people getting a driver’s license an option to register to vote. However, after the new policy was implemented, everyone who applies for a driver’s license is automatically registered and must opt-out if they don’t want to be—or cannot be—registered to vote.
Those who opposed the decision stated that people who are not eligible to vote, like those who are not American citizens, would be able not to opt-out and would be registered to vote anyway.
Even if a noncitizen doesn’t plan to break the law by voting in the United States election, there is still a problem: a language barrier. It would be difficult for a non-native English speaker to navigate the complicated system, especially considering that the government made it harder to complete the form if a person answers “No” to the “Are you a citizen of the United States?” question.
According to a Right-to-Know request response obtained by Heather Honey, executive director of the Election Research Institute and co-founder of Verity Vote, at least 628,234 noncitizens in the state have either a driver’s license or a non-driver’s license photo identification.
The news source reported that an investigation has been announced to examine how the state is keeping illegal voters from registering for a driver’s license.
On Sept. 16, 2024, Republican Pennsylvania Auditor General Timothy DeFoor sent a letter to PennDOT Secretary Michael Carroll and Secretary of the Governor’s Office of Administration Neil Weaver, telling them that the auditor’s office will conduct a performance audit of the motor voter registration process.
According to the letter, the audit will examine the automatic voter registration system between Jan. 1, 2024, and June 30, 2024, specifically examining the program’s implementation, its compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and its relationship to the state election code.
The news source added that the audit will also “determine whether PennDOT’s Motor Voter interface files sent to the Pennsylvania Department of State properly excluded non-citizens.”
