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Lorena Gonzalez,
a Democratic assemblywoman who authored the legislation, had
said it could increase the state's voter base by millions of
people.
The law allows voters to cancel their voter registration at any
time, according to Gonzalez's office.
The California legislation resembles the so-called Motor Voter
bill signed into law earlier this year in Oregon, which became
the first state in the nation to make voter registration
automatic through its Department of Motor Vehicles.
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who oversees
elections, said earlier this year that the bill would play a
positive role in the state by enrolling more voters at a time
when turnouts there have been woefully small.
California has 6.6 million citizens who are eligible to vote but
not registered, according to statistics from the Secretary of
State's Office.
It ranks 38th in the nation in voter registration rates of
eligible citizens, Gonzalez's office said last month.
Voters in California generally support liberal candidates. More
than 43 percent of the state's voters are registered as
Democrats, while 28 percent are listed as Republicans.
The bill will rely on an incoming system called VoteCal to
verify a California resident's legal eligibility to vote.
The system is not expected to be operational until around June,
according to the Los Angeles Times.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
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