Pro or Con : Automatic voter registration

1. 67

   ptosisposted 7 years ago

   Pro or Con : Automatic voter registration
   
   Oregon's automatic registration law, which won approval in 2015, is the first of its kind in the nation. When get your Photo ID or Driver's license you are automatically registered to vote.  YES, in Oregon, people with past felony convictions can register and vote. YES, people who are homeless can vote. For people who do not want to affiliate with any political party, they should choose the circle for “Not a member of a party."
   
   

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2. 50

   bradmasterOCcalposted 7 years ago

   What about people that aren't American Citizens?
   Also for those that don't drive, how do they register to vote?
   There is nothing in the constitution that says you have to register with a political party preference.
   How did we get where we are today, where each party has its own registration.
   Party primaries don't serve a purpose. We should be able to vote for a candidate of any party to narrow down the selection for the general election.

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      Johnny James Aposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      The Constitution gave the states the rights to determine Electors and most issues with voting. The Founding Fathers also initially purposely left off protections for certain people to vote, some of which were reversed with later amendments

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      bradmasterOCcalposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      James
      How does that help us today? We have over two dozens amendments, maybe we need more because the current process isn't working.

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3. 44

   Ericdierkerposted 7 years ago

   That sure is interesting. Do we want more uninformed voters? I think I am against it. If you can't take the time to register you certainly won't take the time to learn what is going on. Then it would be sound bites and commercials that would determine the outcome of elections -- not good.

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   1. 67

      ptosisposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Just because you're registered doesn't mean going to vote. It's not like automatic organ donor registration.

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      Ericdierkerposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Yes but it sure makes it easier

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4. 67

   ptosisposted 7 years ago

   
   
   bradmasterOCcal raised interesting questions. Are aliens allowed to vote? Since the following is beyond the limit of a comment I put it in as an answer.
   
   Foreigners  are prohibited voting in Fed elections but not in states. Alien suffrage differs in each state. Pro/Con reasons here @ http://cis.org/NoncitizenVoting#legality
   
   Eleven states allow illegal aliens to get driver’s licenses. Twelve states have statutes that permit nonresident voting locally under certain conditions such as land ownership.. Reference @ http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections- … oting.aspx
   
   Only American citizens (and immigrants with green cards) can contribute money to federal politics,
   
   Citizens United Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited free speech via spending by international corporations could allow foreign nationals, governments and individuals to bankroll US elections is the biggest problem IMHO.
   
   Since all publicly traded 'American' corporations are owned by some degree by foreign nationals than means any electoral spending by such corporations is potentially illegal. (theintercept)
   
   The FEC reaffirmed that position as recently as 2006, in another advisory opinion stating that domestic subsidiaries of foreign corporations may donate to state and local elections. It's not illegal for 501(c) groups to accept money from foreign citizens.
   
   
   It appears to be that big alien money is a bigger problem than individual alien voting due to the greater influence.

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      bradmasterOCcalposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      ptosis
      I think both of these are detrimental to the watered down voting process. The Supreme Court doesn't make good decisions, especially the simple majority. A valid decision cannot be made by a vote of 1. The other jurists are just a qualified

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