Online registration systems have dramatically boosted voter sign-ups in the dozen states that allow citizens to register to vote over the Internet. Colorado has logged more than 79,000 voter registrations since Sept. 1 — and more than 300,000 since introducing online sign-ups in 2010. In the two years prior to going online, the state logged roughly 90,000 registrations. This year Colorado introduced a service that delivers versions of voter registration forms optimized for tablet PCs and smartphones. “We’ve increased our voter registration to a new level,” says Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler. New York, which ranks 47th in percentage of eligible voters registered to cast a ballot, in August began letting citizens sign up to vote via a Department of Motor Vehicles Web page. Some 29,200 New Yorkers have since used the online system — 11,185 of whom will be first-time voters.
“This new initiative has knocked down barriers to democracy — attracting not only thousands of New Yorkers who need to update their voter information, but also a large number of first-time voters,” says Rich Azzopardi, spokesman for Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Online sign-ups have proved to be convenient for citizens and cost-effective for state elections bureaus. Arizona, the first state to offer online voter registration, in 2002, has reported that a single paper registration costs 83 cents’ worth of staff time to process vs. 3 cents for an online registration.
Full Article: Online voter registrations aids democratic process.