Registering to vote might soon be as easy as placing an online order for a pizza with all the fixings. A bill by state Sen. Leland Yee could push millions more Californians to vote, and save the state millions of dollars by moving voter registration to the Web.
The measure was approved by the state Legislature in September and is awaiting a signature or veto by Gov. Jerry Brown, who has not indicated how he views the legislation.
About 6.5 million eligible California residents are not registered to vote and could benefit from the program. But online registration could be a major draw for one notably left-leaning and underregistered demographic — young adults.
Kelsey McQuaid, communications director for California College Democrats, said the predominant reason college students give for not registering to vote is that they don’t have enough time to stop at registration stands on campus and complete the paperwork.
“If there’s a link we can post saying, ‘Here’s the secretary of state’s website, here’s where you can register to vote; it’s easy, it will take you two minutes — fill it out between classes,’ that would be an amazing tool for us,” McQuaid said.
California Republicans largely oppose the measure. California GOP Chairman Tom Del Beccaro said the danger of fraud associated with online registration outweighs any benefits.
Full Article: Web registering may shake up voter rolls in California | Sarah Gantz | Local | San Francisco Examiner.