Montana could make it more convenient, improve accuracy and save money by allowing people to register to vote online, a senator told a committee Wednesday. “This is simply another mechanism to make sure more people have access,” Sen. Dave Wanzenried, D-Missoula, told the Senate State Administration Committee. His Senate Bill 206 would let people register to vote online, provided they have a valid Montana driver’s license or a Montana identification card. People registering online would have to attest the information they are entering is true, agree to use the signature on their Montana driver’s licenses or ID card on file with the state and submit it electronically.
It now costs 83 cents for election officials to process each voter registration transaction, he said. Registering online would slash that cost to 3 cents per transaction.
He compared it to people paying their bills and taxes electronically and conducting their banking online.
“Frankly, the younger generation needs these kinds of tools to participate,” Wanzenried said.
Secretary of State Linda McCulloch, who asked Wanzenried to sponsor the bill, said 15 states have online voter registration and three more are building their online systems, while Montana and eight more are considering it.
Full Article: Online voter registration bill wins committee support.