With 20 states currently allowing online voter registration and seven states plus the District of Columbia in the process, South Dakota legislators are waiting for a push from voters before considering any legislation. “There has not been a push for it, or vocal opposition to it, as far as I know,” said House Democratic Leader and Board of Elections Member Richard Casey. “I believe the change to allow online voter registration would have to be adopted by the legislature.” The new online systems would allow people to sign up anywhere with an internet connection. Applicants must provide their driver’s license number and the last four digits of their social security number.
The application is immediately reviewed electronically by running the applicant’s information through the state’s driver licenses and state-issued identification card database. If an error occurs, the applicant is immediately notified and the application is sent to an election officials.
“With the advances of technology, speaking for myself, I think it’s only a matter of time before we have online registration in South Dakota,” Casey said. The National Conference of State Legislators reports that no fraud or security breaches are known to date for the online system.
Online registration is not only more time efficient but cheaper as well. According to a 2010 study done in Arizona, the state saw a decrease in pre-registration costs from 83 cents for a paper application to three cents online.
Full Article: Online voter registration not coming to South Dakota in the near future.