California could add 100,000+ more young voters per year with Secure AVR
California’s Automatic Voter Registration System is not actually automatic, for anyone
In California, we have automatic voter registration when residents apply for a driver’s license with the DMV. The state also allows young people to preregister to vote starting at age 16, and that’s supposed to be automatic, too.
People say to us all the time: haven’t these steps solved the problem of low youth voter registration? They have not.
Year after year, the preregistration rate for the state’s 16- and 17-year-olds has been stuck below 15%. Here’s our latest report with the numbers. We’ve published detailed research on how California’s failure to implement robust and equitable high school voter registration programming is holding back youth political participation.
Now we’ve learned of another factor at play: The DMV’s official website is inadvertently encouraging users to opt out of voter registration, and young people are impacted the most. More than 111,000 teens opted out in 2022 alone (that’s more than 300 every day).
“Automatic” voter registration in California is not actually automatic
Here’s what’s happening: applicants for a driver’s license who are 16 or 17 years old are told that they will be automatically registered to vote if they are eligible. They must first affirm that they meet all the eligibility requirements.
After that, applicants are directed to another required field:
As the screenshot above demonstrates, DMV website users are required to “opt in” or “opt out” of voter registration to continue with their license application, which is not only not “automatic,” but is an unrelated barrier to what they are there for (to get their driver’s license).
We’ve all clicked out of pop-ups that prevent us from continuing with a task at hand, and that appears to be what is happening here.
This isn’t just an educated guess: according to a recent report by the California Secretary of State, a whopping 45.6% of those eligible to preregister in the state are instead opting out. Here’s the quote, straight from the report:
In 2022, there were 244,411 electronic Driver’s License or ID Card applications from eligible DMV customers aged 16-17… Of these 244,411 total electronic transactions by eligible people, 111,435 (45.6%) were opt-outs of voter pre-registration.
Why are so many opting out? Because the system is putting hurdles in the way of everyone’s progress.
There’s a better way, and it’s called Secure AVR
Instead of prompting every user with the opportunity to opt out of voter registration, the Secure AVR system responds in different ways depending on the type of documentation submitted by an applicant:
If the applicant submits a US birth certificate or passport to prove their identity and citizenship for their driver’s license, and the applicant is old enough to register or preregister, then they will be automatically registered to vote, no further questions asked or actions required. They receive a letter in the mail from their election office letting them know they have been registered to vote. This letter provides a prepaid return mailer that provides the opportunity to opt out.
If an applicant submits documents for proof of ID that do NOT demonstrate either citizenship or non-citizenship, it is only then that the DMV will offer the opportunity to opt out of voter registration.
If the applicant submits documentation showing that he or she is not a citizen, they will not be registered or offered the opportunity to opt out.
Colorado has Secure AVR as well as preregistration at 16, and the statewide preregistration rate for 16- and 17-year-olds is 45.8%. This is one of the highest rates we have seen. In California, in contrast, the rate is under 15%. In New York, it’s under 20%. This suggests that Secure AVR may be having a huge impact.
Secure AVR is not only working; it’s also catching on. Michigan just passed a Secure AVR law, which will go into effect in 2025. Minnesota, New Mexico, Washington State and Washington DC all passed similar laws in 2023.
Now, California has a chance to do the same. A bill, SB 299, is pending in the California state legislature that will bring Secure AVR to California, as well. This bill, if enacted, could bring hundreds of thousands of new voters onto the voter registration rolls through a much more efficient and cost-effective process. Indeed, according to the Institute for Responsive Government, Secure AVR will likely save California millions of dollars per year.
California, stop discouraging eligible teens from preregistering to vote at the DMV. Pass Secure AVR immediately so all drivers license applicants are registered to vote automatically, for real.
The Civics Center gratefully acknowledges the contributions of Neal Ubriani of the Institute for Responsive Government, who provided helpful comments on this report.
For further context of the screenshot above, you can check out the appendix to the Secretary of State’s own report.
To learn more about Secure AVR, check out Justin Grimmer and Jonathan Rodden’s article, Changing the Default: The Impact of Motor-Voter Reform in Colorado, Stanford Univ., Dept of Political Science (2022). If you’re excited by the possibilities but don’t have time to read the whole thing, the Institute for Responsive Government has a great summary.
The Movement Advancement Project also noted the promise of Secure AVR in its January 2024 report on policies that promote youth electoral participation.