FLORIDA ELECTIONS OFFICIALS FOR ON-LINE VOTER REGISTATION
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
September 23, 2014
For more information contact:
Sheri Valera Treadwell
Special Assistant,
Communications and Education Specialist
On-line voter registration reduces costs, paperwork and risk for errors
“Today the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections (FSASE) took a position in favor of urging the Florida legislature to allow on-line voter registration. The association, comprised of supervisors from all over Florida of varying county sizes, released a position paper today on their website outlining their stance and what it would mean for Florida voters.
Florida taxpayers would save millions each year, eliminate paperwork and greatly reduce the risk of clerical error.
“This is a common sense approach for 21st century voters. So much is done on-line now, including very personal things like banking. Voters take convenience for granted and with technology, convenience can be secure. In my county alone, roughly 10 percent of people move each year. In most cases, we are not notified and instead pursue costly, state-law mandated, multi-step snail mail processes to try to notify voters and keep our rolls accurate. By making it easy for voters to update information, we are talking about saving millions,” said Jerry Holland, President of the FSASE.
Florida already gives on-line access to voter registration applications, however, those must be printed, signed and mailed or hand delivered to be processed. With a new on-line system, someone wanting to make a registration update could simply update personal information and elect to use a signature already on file for verification purposes.
Twenty states presently employ some form of state-wide on-line registration and many other states are following suit. Local elections officials want Florida to be next. The Supervisors point out those states with existing on-line capabilities found it to be partisan-neutral, in that it does not benefit one political party’s registration rate over another’s.
The move would not be available immediately. Supervisors want the state to phase in the project with secure procedures in place that would be developed by the state’s Division of Elections and be implemented after the 2016 Presidential Election cycle. It would also not be accessible to first-time registrants without the voter showing verification before casting a ballot.
“I hope the legislature will talk to their local elections experts and see this is a wise move in the right direction,” said Holland.
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