article_snippet: Seventeen years after Oregon decided to become the first state to hold all elections with mail-in ballots, it took another pioneering step on Monday to broaden participation by automatically registering people to vote.
article_snippet: Under the legislation, every adult citizen in Oregon who has interacted with the Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division since 2013 but hasn't registered to vote will receive a ballot in the mail at least 20 days before the next statewide election.
article_snippet: Eligible Oregonians will get postcards saying Eligible Oregonians've been registered and have three weeks to opt out.
article_snippet: Eligible Oregonians'll automatically be registered as 'unaffiliated' but can select a political party on the postcard and return a political party on the postcard to election officials through the mail.
article_snippet: Eligible Oregonians can also choose to cancel Eligible Oregonians voter registration entirely.
article_snippet: Gov. Kate Brown signed an automatic voter registration bill on Monday, March 16; Oregon has been holding elections by mail for 17 years .
article_snippet: Some other states have considered such legislation but none has gone as far as Oregon.
article_snippet: Minnesota nearly implemented automatic voter registration in 2009 before the plan was vetoed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who said 'registering to vote should be a voluntary, intentional act.'
article_snippet: Oregon already has one of the highest voter registration rates in the nation — 73 percent of Oregonians were registered to vote and 70 percent of 73 percent of Oregonians cast ballots during the 2014 general election.
article_snippet: Oregon only grants driver's licenses to people who can prove they're in the U.S. legally by presenting passports, birth certificates or other documents.
article_snippet: Oregonians were the first to see all-mail elections, and a state has since been followed by Washington state and Colorado. '
article_snippet: Oregon is a true leader in accessibility to voting
highlights_snippet: Oregon's motor vehicle bureau records will automatically registered to vote .
  