When Gov. Tom Wolf took office, Pennsylvania was already behind many states in allowing online voter registration, but the state is now an early adopter of a texting service designed to increase registration awareness. Wolf often cited a need for more accessible voter registration during his campaign for office, and about seven months into his first term as governor, Pennsylvania became the 23rd state to allow online registration, according to Secretary of State Pedro Cortes. Cortes said he had been pushing for online voter registration when he served under previous Gov. Ed Rendell because it’s “more convenient and accessible.” Last week, online voter registration services surpassed 500,000 users in the state, he said.
Cortes said one of the main benefits has been to county election offices, which are able to reduce labor intensive data entry resulting from handwritten registrations, which can sometimes contain illegible entries.
Nikki Suchanic, director of the York County elections office, previously said the option does help her office process applications more easily.
Full Article: Wolf’s administration increases voter registration options.