Image CreditPennsylvania Capitol Complex, Harrisburg, Penn./Beth Brelje/The Federalist
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro got mixed reviews in September 2023 when he announced Pennsylvania 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.”
Before Shapiro switched to automatic voter registration, anyone getting a driver’s license was given the option to register to vote. But now all applying for driver’s licenses are automatically registered and must opt out if they don’t want to be — or cannot be — registered to vote.
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
So they can register the illegals to vote? We know your plan Obama.
— Stefanie Daubert 🇺🇸 (@Stefild) September 19, 2023
Opponents of the move worried that people who are not eligible to vote, such as those who are not citizens of the United States, would not opt out and would be registered anyway.
In Pennsylvania, at least 628,234 noncitizens had a state driver’s license or a non-driver’s license photo identification, 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.
Now an investigation has been announced
