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March 08. 2015 2:00AM Our View: Driving voter turnout is no sure thing for Oregon Oregon is leading the nation with its "New Motor Voter" law. Whether the law will actually increase voter turnout remains to be seen. The Oregon Senate gave final approval to the measure on Thursday. Gov. Kate Brown's signature was a foregone conclusion; the bill was her top priority as secretary of state. "Motor voter" laws have been on the books since Congress passed a law in 1993 requiring states to offer citizens the chance to register when they obtained or renewed a driver's license. Oregon's version takes that a step further; the Department of Motor Vehicles will automatically forward to the secretary of state's office the name of everyone with a driver's license record who is 18 or older and a U.S. citizen, and those people will be added to the voter registration rolls. Everyone initially will be registered as a non-affiliated voter, but will have the option of choosing a party instead, or opting out altogether within 21 days. The law has the potential of adding more than 300,000 voters to the rolls statewide. Each of those people will begin receiving a ballot in the mail before each election. The question is how many of those newly registered Oregonians will bother to fill out the ballot and send it back in. Supporters say many will. Opponents raised all kinds of objections, from concerns about privacy to accusations that the measure is designed to boost the ranks of voters likely to back Democrats. Assuming that unregistered voters tend to be younger and lower-income — groups that generally support Democrats — that might be a valid concern for Republicans. But how many will actually follow through and vote? Oregon's registration system is not particularly restrictive. Registering to vote here is less difficult than in many other states. So it stands to reason that those who don't register simply don't want to. People vote because they care about public issues and want a say in who represents them. Those who don't care enough to register probably don't care enough to inform themselves on issues and candidates, either. That's not to say that everyone who votes now is well-informed, but the odds are better. As with any new law, there is always the danger of unintended consequences. If privacy becomes an issue, lawmakers may need to step in again, as well they might if this proves to be a significant expense that is getting very little return. As for skewing the electorate to the left, all the law does for sure is increase the number of potential voters. It's up to the parties and the candidates not only to convince those new voters to side with them, but to get them to vote at all.   http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20150308/OPINION/150309705 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->