Automatic Voter Registration Bill Introduced in Senate

April 5, 2019

Denver CO – The Colorado State Senate yesterday introduced SB19-235, Automatic Voter Registration, a bill sponsored by Senator Jessie Danielson (D-Wheat Ridge) and Majority Leader Steve Fenberg (D-Boulder) to automatically register voters in Colorado. It will first be heard in the Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee.

"The right to vote and participate in our democracy is fundamental to this country's success," said Majority Leader Steve Fenberg. "By expanding our Automatic Voter Registration program, we can increase the accessibility of our elections to thousands of Coloradans across the state and ensure their voices are heard throughout the political process."

“Colorado has the best election laws in the country, but we can still do more to protect and expand voting rights for all Coloradans,” said Senator Danielson. “Automatic voter registration is the next commonsense step we can take to make our electoral processes more inclusive.”

To automatically register voters, the Department of Revenue would transfer the electronic record of all eligible residents who apply for or seek renewals or corrections of their Colorado driver’s license or identification card. The records would be reviewed and the resident would receive a notice of voter registration. They could then decline or choose to affiliate with a party, but if they do not decline within 20 days they would be automatically registered to vote. A similar process would be conducted by the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing for Medicaid application records.

This legislation is one of many this session that are aimed at improving Colorado’s electoral process. In addition to SB19-235, Senator Danielson is also sponsoring SB19-202, Voting Rights for Voters with Disabilities, which would increase ballot access for Coloradans with disabilities.

To learn more about SB19-235, please visit https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb19-235.

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