Wilson Ordered to Enforce Voter Law : Government: Appeal is planned on ruling. U.S. statute allows registration at DMV, welfare offices.

A federal judge ordered Gov. Pete Wilson Thursday to enforce a federal law that allows people to register to vote when applying for welfare or a driver’s license.

U.S. District Judge James W. Ware gave the state 10 days to come up with a plan to put the law into effect despite Wilson’s contention that it violates state rights, would cost too much, and would produce longer lines in motor vehicle offices.

“Voting is the very essence of our Democratic government,” said Ware, who was appointed by former President Bush on Wilson’s recommendation. “Every contact individuals have with our government should be an opportunity to register to vote.”

The Wilson Administration will appeal the judge’s decision and seek a stay to put his ruling on hold pending the appeal’s outcome.

The voter law presumably will help Democratic candidates by increasing registration of the poor and racial minorities. But Wilson, in a showdown with the Clinton Administration, has argued that the state should not enforce the plan until the federal government provides the money. The federal law did not provide funding for full implementation.

Wilson has contended that the voter plan would cost California $18 million a year. Other officials estimate the price tag at about $5 million or less.

“This ruling,” Wilson said, “does not end our efforts to reaffirm the rights of states, which are after all independent and sovereign governments, not mere extensions of Washington’s out-of-touch bureaucracy.”

Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren, in a written statement, complained that the law would divert state employees from their duties in welfare and motor vehicle offices and possibly trigger election fraud.

He also noted that the new Republican Congress already has called for modifications of the law and even a repeal.

“Fortunately,” Lungren said, “this entire suit may soon be moot.”

California is one of a handful of states that have refused to follow the law and one of three sued by the Clinton Administration’s Department of Justice. Ware’s decision in San Jose is the first ruling.

It requires state motor vehicle offices to give voter registration forms to applicants for driver’s licenses or vehicle registration. Welfare offices also would have to make such forms available.

Wilson sued the federal government, challenging the constitutionality of the law. The Clinton Administration and voting rights and minority groups sued the state to force implementation.

In an August executive order, Wilson directed state officials to wait for federal funds before enforcing the law and in the following month vetoed legislation that provided implementation procedures.

“This ruling takes Gov. Wilson’s hand off the ballot box,” said Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. “The injunction tells the governor he needs to play by the rules.”

A Los Angeles Times poll found that 49% of those surveyed favored the registration idea and 42% opposed it. Pluralities of Democrats, independents, liberals and moderates endorsed such a plan, but majorities of Republicans and conservatives disliked it.

Democrats have long favored such a law as a way to expand the national voter pool. During the last California election, 80% of those who voted were white whereas only 54% of the state’s adult population is white, said Robert Rubin, assistant director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, who argued the case in court.

Federal officials credit the new law with tremendous increases in voter registration. They say 52,000 people registered under it in Georgia in January compared to 88,000 in the state the entire previous year.

Times staff writer Dave Lesher contributed to this story.