“Today, the Internet replaces mailboxes for thousands of Californians wishing to register to vote.” That was California Secretary of State Debra Bowen at a press conference Wednesday, speaking about California’s new online voter registration system, which launched last week.
“Today, the Internet replaces mailboxes for thousands of Californians wishing to register to vote.” That was California Secretary of State Debra Bowen at a press conference Wednesday, speaking about California’s new online voter registration system, which launched last week.
State Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) authored the measure, citing that only 44 percent, or 6 million eligible California voters, participated in the 2008 presidential election.
With several significant ballot measures both statewide and here in Santa Cruz—including the measure on GMO labeling, a potential ban on the death penalty and, locally, some proposed tax raises and a hefty bond measure for the Pajaro Valley Unified School District—votes count. Appropriately, interested citizens who haven’t yet registered can visit VotesCount.com, Santa Cruz’s Election Department website, and click on the “Am I Registered To Vote?” tab. The deadline for online voter registration is Oct. 22. County Clerk Gail Pellerin says the service has been popular, with about 100 people registering right after its launch last Wednesday, and upwards of 200 people a day since then.
Of course, registering to vote is just the first step. Voter turnout in the June primary was a “pathetically low” 39.8 percent of registered voters, says Pellerin. November presidential elections typically draw in much higher numbers, with over 86 percent in 2008 and 83 percent in 2004.
California, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Oregon, Utah, Nevada, Maryland, New York and Washington currently allow online voter registration. Washington State has even partnered with Facebook—the online voter registration form is automatically filled with pertinent information from the user’s Facebook account. One question: Does the service take into account users’ “I Dressed As Sarah Palin Halloween ’08 LOL” photo albums?
