Good News for Voting Access in Seattle and WA State. (Republic: homes, live)

[homesinseattle]

Inslee Signs Voting Rights Act, Other Voting Bills Into Law. Met Inslee at a benefit last night, he was genuinely proud of having signed this yesterday. Besides the Voting Rights Act, Inslee signed into law a measure that will allow 16 and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote. Another bill allows for same-day voter registration. The fourth measure lets automatic registration for people getting state ID cards or enhanced driver’s licenses.

Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman praised the new voting laws as “a positive step forward” for Washington elections. Inslee also signed in law the DISCLOSE act designed to shed light on so-called “dark money” in state politics.

I never understood politicians who wanted to make it harder to register to vote. Empower the people to speak, whatever their beliefs. Here is an article about the bill that was just signed: Inslee Signs Voting Rights Act, Other Voting Bills Into Law | NW News Network

[jakebarnes]

Thanks for sharing homesinseattle. That is great news.

[Hemlock140]

Registration is not the issue, it's apathy. Vote by mail, with all of the drop boxes now make it very quick and easy to vote, yet people don't.

Turnout was only 37.1% of registered voters in November 2017, August 2017 it was 26.92%, February 2017 was 38.53%, and even the 2016 Presidential primary only 34.78%, though for the Presidential general election it went up to 78.76%.

https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/res...-election.aspx

[homesinseattle]

Hemlock, i ageee with you and those numbers are pathetic, apathy but also voter suppression is alive and well in many parts of the country. I suspect it will be higher this year in the midterm elections. Most people I know are pretty horrified at what Trump is doing to this country.

As you probably know, voter participation in most other developed countries is much higher, in some countries it is even illegal to not vote. I wish...

[CoastieTX]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Inslee Signs Voting Rights Act, Other Voting Bills Into Law. Met Inslee at a benefit last night, he was genuinely proud of having signed this yesterday. Besides the Voting Rights Act, Inslee signed into law a measure that will allow 16 and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote. Another bill allows for same-day voter registration. The fourth measure lets automatic registration for people getting state ID cards or enhanced driver’s licenses.

Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman praised the new voting laws as “a positive step forward” for Washington elections. Inslee also signed in law the DISCLOSE act designed to shed light on so-called “dark money” in state politics.

I never understood politicians who wanted to make it harder to register to vote. Empower the people to speak, whatever their beliefs. Here is an article about the bill that was just signed: Inslee Signs Voting Rights Act, Other Voting Bills Into Law | NW News Network

Considering Washington is one of a handful of states which issues state ID documents without verifying immigration status, do you not see a major red flag here?

It’s a fair question to ask the democrats, who have been extremely preoccupied with upholding the integrity of our voting process lately.

[PeteyNice]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

Registration is not the issue, it's apathy. Vote by mail, with all of the drop boxes now make it very quick and easy to vote, yet people don't.

Turnout was only 37.1% of registered voters in November 2017, August 2017 it was 26.92%, February 2017 was 38.53%, and even the 2016 Presidential primary only 34.78%, though for the Presidential general election it went up to 78.76%.

https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/res...-election.aspx

You can't look at Presidential Primary numbers. I voted in the caucus and not in the primary because the primary is meaningless. You also have to look at what races were on the ballot. In an off year like 2017, many people don't have big ticket races to vote for. You would also see participation go up if the ballots could clearly be mailed back for free.

[eightbitguy]

Originally Posted by CoastieTX

Considering Washington is one of a handful of states which issues state ID documents without verifying immigration status, do you not see a major red flag here?

It’s a fair question to ask the democrats, who have been extremely preoccupied with upholding the integrity of our voting process lately.

This is not true. There are two types of Driver's Licenses in WA, the regular one (which a non-citizen can get) and the EID which requires proof of citizenship. The automatic voting registration only applies to the EID kind.

In other words: NO IMMIGRANTS WILL BE REGISTERED OR ALLOWED TO VOTE.

[rjshae]

I feel apathetic about some elections because (a) I don't really know any of the candidates and (2) I feel great cynicism about politicians in general and the political parties in particular.

If they switched to the simple Approval Voting method that tolerated more political parties, I'd be more enthusiastic. It's the method used by multiple mathematical associations to select their officers.

[rupp-certified]

Originally Posted by rjshae

I feel apathetic about some elections because (a) I don't really know any of the candidates and (2) I feel great cynicism about politicians in general and the political parties in particular.

If they switched to the simple Approval Voting method that tolerated more political parties, I'd be more enthusiastic. It's the method used by multiple mathematical associations to select their officers.

Approval voting seems to work for nerds but do you really expect your average voter to research 10 different parties and come up with an informed yes/no for each one?

[CoastieTX]

Originally Posted by eightbitguy

This is not true. There are two types of Driver's Licenses in WA, the regular one (which a non-citizen can get) and the EID which requires proof of citizenship. The automatic voting registration only applies to the EID kind.

In other words: NO IMMIGRANTS WILL BE REGISTERED OR ALLOWED TO VOTE.

I hope you are right, and I’m aware of the distinction between our enhanced driver’s licenses and the regular ones, but the link in the OP doesn’t say automatic voter registration is reserved for EID holders only.

Again, this is a valid concern, as the importation of a foreign electorate has been and remains an important component of the democrats’ long-term strategy.