I am late and zooming to volunteer for the afternoon-evening shift as a poll worker. Suddenly, red lights flash in my rearview mirror. Busted.

Not only was it wrong of me to speed, it was unnecessary. When I arrive, the only souls at the Los Alisos Intermediate School precinct are volunteers. Inspector Hugh Lander points to a frowny face next to the percentage of voters who turned out in the last primary, 25.9 percent.

For a nation that prides itself on exporting democracy and puts our military in harm’s way to accomplish that goal, we should be ashamed of our poor voting turnout. But now there’s a bill winding its way through the state Legislature that automatically will register you when you apply for or renew your driver’s license.

The proposal is minor but significant. Currently, you have to click a button on the California secretary of state’s website to register. Yet already there’s an epic battle brewing over the proposal that splits along party lines. Democrats for, Republicans against.

But a recent poll suggests that those Republicans are out of touch with voters. The HuffPost/YouGov poll reports 54 percent of Americans want automatic registration.

With fewer than half our citizens ages 18-44 voting, the bill makes sense and it’s time to take a serious look at anything that might increase voter participation.

Well, almost anything.

MOTOR VOTER LAW

Federal law requires that Department of Motor Vehicles offices give customers the option of registering to vote. Who knew?

The so-called “motor voter law” of 1993 also requires voting registration at public schools, libraries, disability centers and by mail.

Still, Secretary of State Alex Padilla estimates the number of eligible but unregistered voters in California totals 6.7 million people.

Authored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, Assembly Bill 1461 takes federal law one step further. Instead of opting in, you would have the choice to opt out.

My take is that some Democrats want the law because they think there are more unregistered voters who lean Democrat. Accordingly, some Republicans dislike the bill because they believe that the more people who vote in California, the fewer elections the GOP will win.

I’ll admit, no politician I talked to fessed up to my suspicions. And some had arguable points both for and against the bill.

Assemblyman Donald Wagner represents the 68th District, which includes Anaheim, Irvine, Lake Forest, Orange, Tustin and Villa Park. He echoes other Republicans and makes points worth considering.

“It’s a solution looking for a problem,” Warner told me, explaining voter turnout is the problem, not voter registration. “It’s really easy to register online.”

Wagner cited increased costs, increased workloads and increased opportunities for voter fraud. “The possibilities are endless for creative minds to steal an election.”

Assemblywoman Kim Young, R-Fullerton, said she voted against the bill in committee because “automatic voter registration is simply not worth the significant costs and privacy concerns of this bill.”

Young acknowledged, “Our democracy is best served when more people engage in the political process.” Still, she maintained that a change in the DMV process doesn’t override cost and privacy concerns.

Assemblyman Bill Brough, R-Dana Point, had a similar take. His office pointed out that the DMV already is overwhelmed and that “registration doesn’t equal participation.”

Democrats, however, have a different take.

VOTER FRAUD CONCERNS

In a release, Padilla argued, “One of the biggest barriers to citizen participation is the voter registration process. A new, enhanced California Motor Voter law would strengthen our democracy. It would be a game changer.”

The secretary of state predicted the bill could expand voter rolls by millions. He also addressed concerns about privacy in a recent interview. “If government knows who’s here, who’s 18, who’s a citizen, why go through hoops? Let’s just register folks automatically.”

Assemblyman Tom Daly, D-Anaheim, wrote me, “The bill will make voter registration easier, thereby increasing opportunities for eligible citizens to participate in our democracy.”

Of concerns about voter fraud, Daly noted, “The DMV will be prohibited from transferring the information for individuals who cannot provide proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or U.S. passport.”

Still, there is a limit to how far we should go to get people to vote.

MANDATORY VOTING?

One of the concerns I heard was that automatic voter registration is a slippery slope toward mandatory voting. Indeed, a surprising number of countries have mandatory voting laws. Some enforce them; some don’t.

France, Greece, Mexico, Turkey and 14 other countries require citizens to vote but don’t have penalties.

Argentina, Australia and Brazil are among the 14 countries that fine if you don’t mark a ballot. Five years ago, Tasmania fined 6,000 people $26 for not voting.

When it comes to mandatory registration, Finland, Chile and Denmark are among the nations that automatically register voters. The U.S., of course, doesn’t, and no one should be forced to vote and he shouldn’t be forced to register.

Some believe government is dumb and that voting is equally dumb. As Americans, that is our right.

But making registration automatic on a site like the DMV’s that offers a smorgasbord of online options is nothing more than an aide.

We can always exercise our right not to vote.

Contact the writer: dwhiting@ocregister.com