ATHOL — Athol Town Clerk Nancy Burnham said action taken by the state House of Representatives Thursday to pass the Automatic Voter Registration Bill was “a good thing.”

And while it may result in additional work for town clerks across the state, she said the upside is that “people will be registered to vote. Hopefully they’ll come out and do so.”

The bill passed by a 130-20 vote, and now it advances to the state Senate for consideration.

The proposed legislation, originally introduced by state Sen. Cynthia Creem and the late state Rep. Peter Kocot, would establish a system for eligible citizens to automatically register to vote when they interact with a state agency, like the Registry of Motor Vehicles or MassHealth. Approximately 680,000 eligible Massachusetts voters are currently not registered.

Burnham said when citizens go to the RMV or sign up for health care, they will be required to register. That will generate an electronic report and be sent to the town clerk, who will accept it — and add the person to the voter list — or reject it.

“Automatic voter registration will make voting more accurate, more secure and more available to all,” said Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, which led the broad-based coalition pushing for the bill. “It’s a win for democracy, it’s a win for security and it’s a win for voters. Utilizing existing technology to modernize the voter registration process just is basic common sense, and we are thrilled that 130 representatives agreed with us. Many thanks to Speaker (Robert) DeLeo and Minority Leader (Bradley) Jones for supporting this critical reform.”

The bill must now be approved by the Senate before the July 31 end of the legislative session. It has received broad support in both legislative chambers, with 85 House co-sponsors, 23 Senate sponsors, and a favorable report from the Joint Committee on Election Laws. Attorney General Maura Healey and Secretary of State Bill Galvin are also supporters. The legislation is endorsed by 65 organizations, including environmental, civil rights, consumer, community, labor and non-partisan groups.

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have passed automatic voter registration — Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.