Two years in the making, Florida’s new online voter registration system is on pace for an official launch on Oct. 1, as the Legislature directed in the 2015 session. It’s the most significant change in voter registration in years in Florida, and most county election supervisors got their first close-up look at the system Wednesday at their statewide conference in Davenport. Reviews were generally favorable, but growing concerns about cybersecurity were also heard. “It works,” Escambia Supervisor of Elections David Stafford said. Paul Lux of Okaloosa said he was pleased with how the system will function. Stafford, Lux and supervisors Wesley Wilcox in Marion and Chris Chambless in Clay all participated in dry-run tests last month.
Registering to vote online is already in effect in more than 20 states, and it will be an option in Florida in English and Spanish. Voting experts and policymakers hope it will result in more eligible adults joining the ranks of eligible voters in the nation’s third-largest state.
When the Legislature first proposed it two years ago, Gov. Rick Scott’s administration expressed cybersecurity concerns, but he signed the bill into law.
Full Article: Florida’s new online voter registration system is on pace for an official launch Oct. 1 | Bradenton Herald.