Ohio To Get Online Registration?

[Image courtesy of discoverohio]

Online registration continues to find proponents across the nation – most recently in the hottest of election policy hotspots, Ohio.

The Plain Dealer has more details:

A Republican senator wants to make voter registration available online, a move he says will make voting more accessible to Ohioans while also saving money for boards of election across the Buckeye State.

Sen. Frank LaRose introduced his plan Thursday. It would direct the secretary of state to create a secure statewide system online that voters could use to register.

“The big picture is … to make the process more accessible and also more accurate and efficient,” LaRose said in an interview.

His proposal also would set up a secure system to let voters request absentee ballots, and would expand the number of state agencies that share data they already collect to check against the state’s voter database to correct errors.

“I’ve been working with this piece of legislation for a while,” LaRose said. “I didn’t introduce it previously because we were working the bugs out of it, and I think we’re there.”

The proposal is possible, in part, because of better communication between state agencies and election offices:

Already the secretary of state’s offices gets data from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles on new addresses, which it shares electronically with county boards of elections across Ohio. LaRose’s bill would expand that, drawing on data now collected from state agencies like the Department of Health, the Department of Jobs and Family Services and the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections.

The bill already has one key supporter – Secretary of State Jon Husted:

“Allowing Ohioans to register to vote online will improve voter access, ensure greater security, save taxpayer dollars and increase the accuracy of the state’s voter rolls. It is the next step in further modernizing Ohio’s election system,” Husted said.

“Leveraging data and technology is an effective way to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in our democratic process – ensuring that it is easier to vote and harder to cheat.”

In June, when he addressed the Ohio Elections Officials Summer Conference, Husted sought the help of more than 500 county elections leaders to push for such a system.

“I have a summer project for you,” Husted told the gathering. “I want each of you to reach out to your state representatives and state senators of both parties and ask them to pass online voter registration.”

The idea would appear to have bipartisan support, with Husted’s likely 2014 opponent lining up behind the bill as well – though hoping to make it broader:

Democratic state Sen. Nina Turner issued a statement today in which she commended LaRose’s efforts.

“I certainly support many of the concepts that Senate Bill 175 tackles and look forward to working with Senator LaRose on this bill as it moves through the legislature in order to ensure a more inclusive and accessible registration process. In particular, the requirements for online absentee ballot requests are problematic for maximum voter access,” she said.

“The ideas put forth in Senate Bill 175 should encourage further consideration for updating Ohio’s election process,” Turner said.

Ohio, she said, should do even more.

“As the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission meets, I will be lobbying the panel to propose a ballot initiative allowing Election Day registration in order to promote a more engaged citizenry,” Turner said. “States that offer same-day registration, such as Minnesota and Iowa, experience higher voter participation, something that all elected officials should support.

Ohio already allows voters to check and update their voter registrations online – but this bill, if enacted, would dramatically expand registration opportunities in probably the most closely-watched states in the nation when it comes to election policy. Stay tuned …