When online voter registration goes into effect in January, it will save tax dollars and make it easier for Ohioans to register to vote. But local election officials say there likely won’t be a huge decrease in the amount of work for their offices — at least in the beginning. Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed Senate Bill 63 on Monday establishing an online voter registration system in Ohio. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, who’s been pushing this initiative since his days in the Ohio General Assembly, said this “moves Ohio forward into the 21st Century.”
“Online registration makes voting easier, is more secure and saves tax dollars, helping meet the goal of making Ohio a place where it’s easy to vote and hard to cheat,” Husted said. “Ohio is already a national leader in election administration with more opportunities to cast a ballot than many places in the country and online voter registration will add to the state’s lead.”
While this service will be a boon for elections, and Butler and Warren county boards of elections officials applaud the move, they say their staff likely will see a minimal workload decrease in the beginning.
“I’m still going to have to do the same work of checking voter registration,” said Warren County Board of Elections Director Brian Sleeth. “I don’t have to store paper, which that will be the biggest benefit to our office.”
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