Voter registration at the California Department of Motor Vehicles has entered the electronic age as of this month.
Under the old system, voters wanting to register at the DMV could check a box on a driver's license, ID card, or change of address form, then fill out a blank voter registration form, which the DMV would then mail to the Secretary of State's office.
But as of this month, checking the box will automatically register voters.
Voters can then choose their party, language and vote-by-mail preferences on a touch screen.
"It's much faster," says Jessica Gonzalez, a spokesperson for the DMV. "It prevents people from having to fill out their information twice, like their name."
Gonzalez describes it as an interim step before the state automatically registers drivers as part of the new Motor Voter law.That likely will not be in place until the 2018 elections.
The DMV began rolling out the new system in April.
The change comes after voting rights groups threatened a lawsuit over the difficulty of the old system.
Under the old system, voters wanting to register at the DMV could check a box on a driver's license, ID card, or change of address form, then fill out a blank voter registration form, which the DMV would then mail to the Secretary of State's office.
But as of this month, checking the box will automatically register voters.
Voters can then choose their party, language and vote-by-mail preferences on a touch screen.
"It's much faster," says Jessica Gonzalez, a spokesperson for the DMV. "It prevents people from having to fill out their information twice, like their name."
Gonzalez describes it as an interim step before the state automatically registers drivers as part of the new Motor Voter law.That likely will not be in place until the 2018 elections.
The DMV began rolling out the new system in April.
The change comes after voting rights groups threatened a lawsuit over the difficulty of the old system.
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