State and local election officials endorsed a bill Wednesday to allow citizens to register to vote online if they have a valid Montana driver’s license or identification card. The House State Administrative heard testimony on House Bill 48, by Rep. Geraldine Custer, R-Forsyth, on behalf of Secretary of State Linda McCulloch, a Democrat. The committee didn’t take immediate action on the bill. Custer said the bill is for registering people with driver’s licenses and voter ID cards. The former longtime Rosebud County clerk and recorder said the system would be secure. McCulloch said HB48 would give people the choice of registering to vote between the current paper form or electronically. “Offering the ability to apply for voter registration online will increase transparency, accuracy and efficiency in the voter registration process,” said McCulloch, the state’s chief election official.
She added, “Implementing an online voter registration option would save a considerable amount of time and money, while increasing the accuracy of Montana’s voter lists. It would also eliminate incomplete or unreadable applications, as an individual would not be able to submit the application online until all the required fields have been completed.”
Online voter registration would give those serving in the military, particularly those based overseas, year-round access to the online registration, McCulloch said.
Twenty-eight states already have online voter registration, she said.
Full Article: Election officials pitch online voter registration.