Ohio online voter registration off to a strong start
Taylor Kerns
More than 1,600 Ohioans have registered to vote online since January 1, according to Ohio Secretary of State John Husted’s office.
Ohio’s online voter registration system went online at the beginning of 2017 following the passage of Senate Bill 63 last year. The bill had widespread support from both Democrats and Republicans.
“I’m really not aware of anyone who’s been vocally opposed to it,” Ohio Secretary of State Director of Communications Matthew McClellan said.
Portage County Board of Elections Director Faith Lyon agreed, noting that the program hasn’t been controversial so far.
“We haven’t received any complaints,” she said. “All I can tell you is people are using it.”
“I know at times when it was being discussed, there were concerns about security, but the system is actually more secure than the paper system,” McClellan said. McClellan credits that security to the requirement of several pieces of identifying information about the voter, as well as automated cross-reference of data entered with Bureau of Motor Vehicles records.
Only three legislators voted against the passage of Senate Bill 63: Representative Wes Retherford, a Republican; Representative Teresa Fedor, a Democrat; and Senator Michael J. Skindell, also a Democrat. None of the three responded to requests for comment.
“Online voter registration is more convenient to the voter, it’s more secure because it’s requiring several pieces of identifying information, and it’s cost effective,” McClellan said. “Studies have shown that the cost for processing an electronic registration is much less than a paper.”
A 2010 Pew Charitable Trusts report found that in Arizona, online registration is indeed less expensive: processing an online voter registration there cost just 3 cents, compared to a paper registration’s 83 cents.
Ohio, Rhode Island and Wisconsin implemented online voter registration systems in 2017, bringing the number of states with active online voter registration systems to 35. Idaho, Florida, Oklahoma and Tennessee have all passed legislation enabling online voter registration services, but none of them are yet active. Arizona, the first state to allow online voter registration, has had a system in place since 2002.
McClellan said voters must be registered 30 days prior to any election they wish to participate in.
“If you haven’t registered yet, you still have plenty of time to do so before November’s election and any August special election that might take place,” he said.
Prospective Ohio voters can register online at myohiovote.com.
