SB 5 DE

0likes☆Favorite🔕SubscribeShare

Became Law

This Act creates an automatic voter registration system at the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and grants the State Election Commissioner the authority to implement automatic voter registration at other state agencies that already offer voter registration services under existing law. This Act stipulates that an unregistered adult citizen who provides proof of U.S. citizenship during a DMV license or identification card transaction will be automatically registered to vote by the Department of Elections, if otherwise eligible for registration. To ensure the accuracy of voter rolls, this Act also ensures any updated name or address received from a registered voter during a DMV license or identification card transaction will be automatically forwarded to the Department of Elections for the purpose of updating existing voter registration records. Using an existing mailer, the Department of Elections then will notify new registrants of their registration and provide them an opportunity decline registration or affiliate with a political party. Existing registrants will similarly be notified of any update to their registration using an existing mailer and provided an opportunity to undo the change, if necessary. People who register to vote under this automatic system but do not identify a specific political party will be afforded another opportunity to affiliate at the polls during the primary election immediately following their registration. To prevent ineligible non-citizens from registering to vote, individuals who provide documents establishing non-citizenship during a DMV transaction and individuals applying for the Delaware Driving Privilege Card will not be offered the opportunity to register to vote at the DMV and will not have any information forwarded to the Department of Elections. Unregistered individuals who do not provide proof of U.S. citizenship or proof of non-citizenship during a license or identification card transaction will be offered the opportunity to register to vote during the DMV transaction only if they affirm citizenship and other eligibility requirements, consistent with federal law requirements and existing law. This Act becomes effective two years after enactment, or five days after the State Election Commissioner certifies to the Governor and the General Assembly that the systems to implement the act are functional, whichever is earlier.

• Kyle Evans Gay · primary
• David Bentz · primary
• Valerie Longhurst · primary
• Madinah Wilson-Anton Democratic · primary

1. Mar 11, 2021 Introduced and Assigned to Elections & Government Affairs Committee in Senate · upper
2. Mar 24, 2021 Reported Out of Committee (Elections & Government Affairs) in Senate with 3 Favorable, 2 On Its Merits, 1 Unfavorable · upper
3. Mar 30, 2021 Passed By Senate. Votes: 14 YES 7 NO · upper
4. Mar 31, 2021 Assigned to Administration Committee in House · lower
5. Apr 20, 2021 Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 1 Favorable, 2 On Its Merits · lower
6. May 18, 2021 Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 NO · lower
7. Jun 30, 2021 Signed by Governor · executive

The published texts of this bill as it moves through the legislature. Each links to the official document on the state legislature site. Data from OpenStates.

• Bill Text · HTML
• Bill Text · PDF