Got an e-mail today from the Committee of Seventy, a non-partisan watchdog group in Philadelphia with an emphasis on fair elections, informing me that Pennsylvania will become the 23rd state to adopt online voter registration.
Gov. Tom Wolf's administration plans to launch the system Thursday, making Pennsylvania the 23rd state to offer Internet-based registration, officials told The Associated Press. The National Conference of State Legislatures says five other states have approved online systems but not yet implemented them.
Online registration was among the voting reforms the Democratic governor promised when he ran for governor last year. Supporters say it's cheaper, more accurate and more convenient than registering on paper.
The e-mail from the Committee of Seventy identifies some of the advantages of the online system:
Seventy's support for online voter registration stems from its benefits to Pennsylvanians including:
- Government efficiency: Replacing unnecessarily slow and expensive voter registration with paper forms will provide significant savings. Of thirteen states with OVR surveyed by Pew's Election Initiative in 2013, 12 reported that cost savings is one of the most significant benefits. Estimated savings have ranged from $0.50 to $2.34 per registration. Paper forms will still be available for those without access to a computer.
- Improved access: Citizens expect simple transactions to be possible online. In addition to eliminating the task of acquiring and mailing a hard copy document, electronic registration can allow enhancements in language access, confirmation of registration receipts for voters and mobile access.
- Security of process: Of the now 22 states that have implemented OVR, none have reported a security breach to date. Election officials maintain that, although attempts to hack systems occur, proper cyber security protocols keep users' private information safe.
- Curbing human error: Philadelphia's often inaccurate voter rolls will benefit because OVR leads to significantly cleaner voter rolls. Online voter registration mitigates human error involved in processing thousands of registrations. Further, the ease with which voters can update their registration results in fewer incorrect records.
- Increased turnout: Improved information to aid voter turnout by campaigns, advocacy groups, or non-partisan groups like Seventy are significantly hindered by voter databases riddled with errors, many of which are due to records not being updated as voters move from one jurisdiction to another. Online voter registration greatly lowers the barrier for users to keep records up to date, decreasing the number of erroneous records.
This is a great step forward for the state of Pennsylvania. Although it may not be as sweeping as other initiatives to improve voter participation, such Oregon's move to make
voter registration automatic, it is still a step that demonstrates Pennsylvania's increased efforts to modernize the state's governance.
Since Tom Wolf was elected Governor last year, he has already advanced many Progressive changes for the state, in spite of a Republican-held legislature. The hope is that as more Pennsylvanians start to see the benefits of Gov. Wolf's agenda, there will be increased pressure on the Republican legislature to work better with Wolf and Democrats to address more of the state's pressing issues.
2015 is an important year for Democrats in the state, but turnout is invariably going to suffer due to it being an off-year election. And with the Presidential race right around the corner, these make engaging voters and getting more of them registered all the more critical.
As Progressives, we should applaud every effort that intends to improve voter participation and the ease at which citizens are able to vote, especially in light of Republican-led efforts to disenfranchise more and more voters. Here's hoping that today's announcement leads to more such initiatives.