Kate Brown
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, as seen Wednesday at the State Capitol in Salem, promoted the motor voter law as a way of removing barriers to voting. On Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, the state announced that the program added 4,300 people to the voting rolls. (Molly J. Smith /Statesman-Journal via AP)
(The Associated Press)
SALEM -- Gov. Kate Brown and Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins say more than 4,300 Oregonians have been registered to vote under a unique new Oregon law that's been dubbed "motor voter."
The system registers voters after they obtain or renew their driver's license, permit or identification card.
Brown and Atkins on Thursday released the first tally of how many people have been registered to vote under the law that took effect on Jan. 1 of this year.
Atkins said the results so far -- 4,300 new voters -- are impressive considering Oregon had previously been adding half as many new voters each month, on average.
Another 17,000 already registered voters have updated their addresses under the new system, which means more ballots will reach their rightful owners.
Brown promoted Motor Voter while she was secretary of state and signed it into law as governor. She said at the time that the measure would remove many of the barriers to voting, particularly for younger and poorer Oregonians who tend to move more often.
The measure allowed driver's license data dating back to 2013 to be used to register Oregon residents who aren't already signed up to vote, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported last year. Elections officials send postcards to the prospective new registrants giving them a chance to opt out.
The newly registered voters also have the opportunity to register with one of the state's political parties. If they don't take action, they will be registered as a non-affiliated voter. The secretary of state's office estimated that the measure will add about 300,000 to the voting rolls, which now total just under 2.2 million.
-- The Associated Press