PA institutes automatic voter registration Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) announced this morning that “eligible voters getting a new driver’s license or ID card in Pennsylvania will now be automatically registered to vote,” reports NBC News. Shapiro’s office issued a statement: “Pennsylvania is the birthplace of our democracy, and as Governor, I’m committed to ensuring free and fair elections that allow every eligible voter to make their voice heard,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “Automatic voter registration is a commonsense step to ensure election security and save Pennsylvanians time and tax dollars. Residents of our Commonwealth already provide proof of identity, residency, age, and citizenship at the DMV – all the information required to register to vote — so it makes good sense to streamline that process with voter registration. My Administration will keep taking innovative actions like this one to make government work better and more efficiently for all Pennsylvanians.” The howls you hear outside belong to opponents of universal suffrage who believe the goal is to “bloat” voter rolls to boost Democratic turnout. Shapiro campaigned on implementing automatic voter registration (AVR). The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent adds: An underappreciated success story, it has been put into effect in two dozen states, mostly by Democrats. It typically works by automatically registering customers at state Department of Motor Vehicles offices (or other agencies) or by automatically extending them that option, while offering an opt-out alternative. […] By keeping a registration process in place while removing the need to affirmatively initiate it, studies show, AVR encourages…