Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont House passed H.458 Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) with a strong tri-partisan and unanimous vote. This allows eligible Vermonters who receive their Driver’s Licenses to be automatically registered to vote. This proposal will streamline the federally mandated voter registration at the DMV with a new process in which the state identifies and automatically adds eligible Vermonters to the voter checklist electronically and without any action needed by the voter.
“As Secretary of State, I believe voting is a sacred right – one we must protect and encourage by removing any unnecessary barriers. Democracy works best when more people participate. I once again applaud the House Government Operations Committee for their hard work and thank the entire Vermont House of Representatives for its nonpartisan support of this important initiative,” said Secretary of State Jim Condos.
“AVR saves time and money, increases the accuracy of our statewide voter checklist, curbs the potential for fraud, and protects the integrity of our elections,” said Secretary Condos.
This will add more eligible voters to the Vermont rolls, cementing Vermont’s ranking as a state with one of the highest registration rates in the country.
Statement from House Majority Leader Representative Sarah Copeland-Hanzas on the Passage of Legislation to Increase Voter Participation: "Vermonters have long cherished and protected their right to vote. House Democrats have been working hard to increase access to voter registration by passing same day voter registration last year and leveraging efforts through the DMV. H.458 will eliminate barriers to voting by allowing Vermonters applying for a Driver's License automatically be registered to vote.
"It is incredibly important that we do everything we can to increase voter registration and participation. There have been efforts nationwide to take away access and I'm proud that we passed this bill with unanimous support."
Condos specifically thanked Representative Chris Pearson for introducing the bill, Speaker Shap Smith, and the House Government Operations Committee chaired by Representative Donna Sweaney for their work.
