Obama praises Pennsylvania automatic voter registration in key swing state as conservatives cry foul

Former President Barack Obama praised Pennsylvania for enacting automatic voter registration in the key swing state as conservatives cried foul over the move ahead of the 2024 election. 

“Great news — starting today, Pennsylvania will begin automatic voter registration for folks getting a driver’s license or state ID card at the DMV. Hopefully even more states will follow,” Obama wrote on X, formerly Twitter. 

But the move faced criticism from some conservatives, including Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, who wrote to his 2.3 million followers, “Leftist Pennsylvania governor decides to ‘automatically’ register ‘voters’ — a legally-dubious and surefire way to make it easier for ineligible individuals to vote illegally.” 

“Breaking: Barack Obama, one of the most corrupt presidents in history, promotes illicit process to further undermine clean elections in Pennsylvania,” Fitton added.

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Former President Barack Obama wrote on X supporting Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s automatic voter registration announcement. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, announced that Pennsylvania would become the 24th U.S. state to enact automatic registration, meaning anyone who goes to the DMV to get or renew a driver’s license will automatically be registered to vote unless they choose to opt out. The governor claimed that 1.6 million Pennsylvanians are qualified to vote but are not registered, claiming, “This is a safe, secure, and streamlined way to be able to get them to register and participate in our democracy.” 

“Real freedom means expanding access to the ballot box for every legal, eligible voter,” Shapiro wrote on X. “That’s why as of today, Pennsylvania is an automatic voter registration state.” 

The announcement coincided with National Voter Registration Day. 

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced automatic voter registration Tuesday. (Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)

Conservative activist Scott Presler claimed in a post to his 1.4 million followers on X that Shapiro’s announcement “signals the democrats are becoming desperate, as they see our Republican weekly gains in voter registration.” 

PENNSYLVANIA ANNOUNCES AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION

“The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is in shambles. Recently, it printed out thousands of cards reminding voters to vote on November 8th — a day after Election Day. They are lacking money & underwent a round of layoffs in July 2023,” Presler added. “Ultimately, the pessimism has to cease. I mean this w/ love & respect: if people spent 1/10th of the time they spend complaining on social media & directed that anger into positive action, we would never lose another election.”

President Biden referenced January 6 in declaring Tuesday National Voter Registration Day. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

President Biden evoked the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol in proclaiming Monday that National Voter Registration Day would be observed Tuesday. 

In a White House release Monday, Biden called on Americans to register to vote and “vowed to fight back against state legislation that undermines the will of the American people.” 

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“Even today, the voting rights of so many hang in the balance,” Biden’s statement said. “The Supreme Court weakened the landmark Voting Rights Act, and in the years since, States have enacted dozens of anti-voting laws. On January 6, 2021 — one of the darkest moments of our Nation’s history — we saw the violent and deadly insurrection at the Capitol perpetrated by election deniers. It is clear that the fight to preserve our democratic values and norms is not over.”