In the near future, anyone obtaining a driver’s license in Hawaii would automatically be registered to vote under a plan announced by a non-partisan advocacy group.

Common Cause Hawaii says it plans to lobby the State Legislature in hopes of boosting voter registration rate and reducing barriers to voting. Under the current process, people applying for a driver’s license have the option to register to vote.

“The United States is a democracy and as such everyone has an opportunity to participate, and everyone has an equal voice,” Corie Tanida, Executive Director Common Cause Hawaii said at a conference Saturday. “Several instances where eligible citizens apply to register to vote while getting their driver’s licenses but the registration was either processed incorrectly or not at all”.

The organization previously proposed the idea, however it did not become law. Although last’s year’s proposed legislation received overwhelming support for encouraging voter registration, the State Attorney General said he had serious concerns about automatic registration violating federal voting rights. In testimony, the AG said that the National Voter Registration Act “recognizes applicants have the right not to register to vote.”

The State Department of Transportation also had concerns about privacy rights of existing driver license holders. In testimony the department said automatically registering license and ID holders “would feel that their right to privacy has been infringed upon by the release of their personal data”.

Nationally five other states have implemented automatic voter registration including California, Connecticut, Oregon, Vermont, and West Virginia. Tanida said it is not yet clear how these laws influence the voter turnout.

Results from the August 13th primary election show 252, 725 registered voters turned out. This represents about 35 percent of the 726, 940 total registered voters in the state.

Tanida said it would be key to work with lawmakers in this upcoming session to ensure a successful outcome.

“More communication, and more education, and discussion with our legislators is definitely needed and we are currently doing that,” She said.