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I moved to Hawaii from Lima, Peru a few years ago and recently became an American citizen.

I am so proud that I will be able to vote in the next federal and state elections. Voting is a right and a responsibility of all citizens, and I think voter registration should be more convenient and accessible.

In my native country, voter registration is not necessary. Any Peruvian citizen is able and expected to vote after they reach the age of 18. They just need to keep their addresses updated in the Documento Nacional de Identidad (National Identity Card) system so that they can vote at an official polling place close to where they live.

In Peru, voting is compulsory and considered a duty of all citizens between the ages of 18 and 70 years old. Citizens, at home in Peru or living abroad, who fail to vote in person at a polling station will receive sanctions. It is also mandatory that if you are called to serve at a polling station, you must go or pay a fine.

Last year, for example, I was summoned to serve at the nearest election polling station to my current address in Hawaii, which was located in the city of San Francisco, California. For many reasons, I was unable to travel to San Francisco to comply with this responsibility. Consequently, I paid a fine for failing to fulfill my responsibility. While these penalties may seem harsh, it emphasizes the importance that Peru places on voter turnout, which was over 80% in the country’s last federal election.

I am not recommending similar penalties in the United States. I love that in this country we have the choice of whether to vote or not.

But because of my experience in Peru, during the last two U.S. federal elections, I was surprised to learn how low the voter turnout was in Hawaii — about 51% for the primary election and nearly 70% for the general election in 2020, and about 35% for the primary election and more than 58% for the general election in 2016.

It appears that the higher turnout in the recent election may have been linked to the added convenience of registered voters receiving a mail-in ballot automatically at their home addresses.

This simple convenience contributed to a significant increase in civic engagement, something that is very good for our democracy.

Since most adults, even in the United States, need a government identification card, providing the option to register to vote when an eligible citizen applies for, or updates, a Hawaii driver’s license or state identification card makes very good sense.

There is no reason not to include an option for all eligible voters to register to vote, or make the voter registration automatic, unless the person decides to opt out of registering to vote. Having implemented vote by mail so successfully, it is time to take the next step of enacting automatic voter registration.

I will admit that Peru is not without political controversy, and I am not a big fan of paying a fine for failing to carry out a civic duty. But I do appreciate the higher rate of voter turnout in my native country, and I recognize how having the convenience of automatic voter registration will help Hawaii’s citizens participate in the political process by reducing barriers to access.

Voting is the most basic right of all citizens. Anything we can do to make voting more accessible will only contribute to more citizens’ voices being heard.

It is time for Hawaii to join the growing number of states nationwide that recognize the efficiency and cost-savings in automatic voter registration and have made it a law. As a new American, I am one of those aspiring voters who would welcome the convenience of automatic voter registration because I believe it will help strengthen our democracy.