article_snippet: Gov. Kate Brown signed a bill that puts the burden of registration on the state instead of voters.
article_snippet: Oregon Republicans are already angry about the possibility for voter fraud –
article_snippet: But more than anything, Oregon's new law changes an 'opt-in' voting system to one where people can only choose to 'opt out.'
article_snippet: It just changes expectations for who's responsible for making elections work,' said Barry Burden, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and director of the Elections Research Center. '
article_snippet: In every other state it's the responsibility for the voters to make sure it happens.'
article_snippet: Similar concerns were raised by Oregon's minority Republicans. '
article_snippet: Simply because it makes us unique or makes us first does not necessarily mean that it actually improves on what us're doing,' said state Sen. Jackie Winters, a Republican from Salem.
article_snippet: A 2009 report by the Brennan Center for Justice says nations where the government takes the lead in enrolling voters have much higher registration rates.
article_snippet: Myrna Perez, deputy director of the Brennan Center for Justice Democracy Program, said a state needs to already have reliable agency records of eligible Americans who have demonstrated citizenship in order to successfully follow in Oregon's footsteps.
article_snippet: and I challenge every other state in this nation to examine every other state in this nation policies and find ways to ensure there are as few barriers as possible in the way of the citizen's right to vote,' Brown said.
highlights_snippet: New law turns elections on elections head, changing voting from 'opt-in' to 'opt-out'
  Gov. Kate Brown, who took office after her predecessor resigned under an ethical cloud, signed the bill on Monday .