Column: Automatic voter registration advances our electoral rights

These are tough times. And tough times demand we do more and care more. We accept our responsibilities to take care of ourselves, our families and our community during the COVID-19 local and global crisis. And part of our personal and civic responsibility is to keep us functioning well as a democracy.

I count making voting accessible to all communities — regardless of ethnicity or geography or economic standing — a critical part of the essential housekeeping that ensures we have a voice in local and national issues.

That is why I am so pleased that Hawaii has moved to “vote by mail” this year statewide. It is a smart move that saves time and money and makes it possible for everyone who wants to be heard to do so. But vote by mail will work as it should only if our voter rolls are current and updated.

Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) is the next logical step to ensure that we, the people, are not inadvertently disenfranchised. If we enact AVR, the updated information we provide the Division of Motor Vehicles will be automatically transmitted to the Office of Elections — unless we decline to allow them to do so. All of us, no matter how busy, do make sure we renew our driving license or get a state ID.

It is important to note that AVR does not compel people to vote. It simply ensures a state of readiness so that when elections are upon us, people who may have been too busy to pay attention to the status of their voter registration are in fact ready to vote.

As an educator and civil rights advocate for women, LGBT, persons with disabilities, immigrants and underrepresented ethnic groups, I support equality and inclusion. I want to remove barriers to voter participation.

It is not enough to lament the poor voter turnout in Hawaii. It is also necessary to acknowledge that when people are rushing between two or three low-wage jobs, taking care of their family and putting food on the table, updating their voter registration is a task that can easily fall by the wayside. AVR is one answer to that challenge: it will make it easier for voters to update their voter registration and vote.

As we address personal and community concerns during the COVID-19 crisis, let’s also help make government work better for people. I urge lawmakers to pass AVR this year.

Any policy that improves community engagement and saves the state and individuals time and money is something that we should seize and implement without delay. AVR can make voting just a little bit less stressful and make our state a lot more inclusive.

Let’s urge our lawmakers to pass this smart measure to make us a more vibrant democracy.

Amy Agbayani chairs the group, Hawai’i Friends of Civil Rights.