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Online voter registration could save bigAlso praised for convenienceGene Davis, DDN Staff WriterTuesday, May 19, 2009 | |
A bill that Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law on Friday that will allow Coloradans to register to vote online could save the state hundreds of thousands of dollars in unnecessary spending, according to a liberal activist group.
A recently released report from the Colorado Public Interest Research Group (CoPIRG) claims that jurisdictions with the population equivalent of Denver spent approximately $1,079,610 in 2008 on implementing and correcting errors in paper-based voter registration systems. According to CoPIRG state director Danny Katz, Colorado lawmakers took a step in the right direction last month towards fixing this problem by passing House Bill 1160, legislation that allows Coloradans with a valid drivers license or state card to register to vote online.
“While (HB 1160) isn’t the automatic voter registration system that the report speaks to, it would get at a number of the challenges that county clerks face,” he said.
The county clerk’s office has to hire multiple part-time and full-time staff to enter data into computers when counties use a paper-based voter registration system. The paper-based system ends up wasting the states a significant amount money and resources, said Katz.
Secretary of the State spokesman Rich Coolidge had similar thoughts, adding that the online registration system will hopefully be up and running next year.
“It will help relieve a lot of the burdens on the county clerks,” he said. “Thirty days before the elections, they get stacks upon stacks of registration forms that are landing on their desks that they have to deal with.”
Katz said that CoPIRG believes HB 1160 will allow Colorado counties to spend more money on actually running the elections instead of hiring people for database entry.
Convenience
When the senate provided unanimous, final approval of the bill last month, Colorado lawmakers stressed the convenience that HB 1160 would create for Coloradans. Lawmakers also went out of their way to say how secure the online registration will be, silencing critics who worry about inputting valuable personal information online.
“I am thrilled that Coloradans will now have a convenient way to register to vote, request a mail-in ballot or update their contact information at the safe and secure Secretary of State Web site,” said a statement from Rep. Joe Miklosi, D-Denver, the bill’s sponsor. “Many youth, senior citizens and members of the disabled community will find this additional option to participate in democracy both convenient and safe.”
Colorado created a statewide registration system last year that allowed voters to go online and verify that their voter registration information was accurate and up to date. HB 1160 takes the process one step further by allowing Coloradans to actually register online.
The state’s voter registration system already uses information from the Department of Revenue to verify driver’s license numbers and identification card numbers. Under HB 1160, the system will couple the online registration application with the voter’s signature on record.
“This collaborative legislation promotes voter convenience while maintaining the security and accuracy of the state’s voter roll,” said a statement from Secretary of State Bernie Buescher. “The bi-partisan cooperation reflected in the support of this bill helps to lay a foundation for a long-term vision for election practices in Colorado.”
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