Padilla Seeks To Increase Voter Participation

Sacramento, CA — California’s Secretary of State is praising a new law in Oregon, and says it would work well here.

According to Alex Padilla, the state’s top elections official, there are seven million eligible, but unregistered voters in California. He says Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a bill last week that will register citizens to vote, or update their registration, every time they get, or renew, a driver’s license.  Oregon is expecting to expand its voter rolls by 300,000 people.

Padilla says, “While many states are making it more difficult for citizens to vote, our neighbor to the north offers a better path. I believe the Oregon model makes sense for California.”

Padilla, a Democrat, who was elected Secretary of State this past November, says that it would increase California’s voter rolls by “millions.”