The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
Indiana has taken a great technological leap forward by allowing Hoosiers to register to vote online.
The service was launched last week and brings yet another portion of the voting process closer to the people. By simply using a computer, a citizen can access a website (www.indianavoters.com) to submit a voter registration application.
While other states remain squeamish about putting such a sensitive exercise into a relatively new electronic realm, Indiana becomes the eighth state to provide the service.
The Indiana General Assembly, which passed legislation creating the online site, and Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita are right to push the state’s voter registration process into this area. People who use the Internet daily use many of these same tools to perform far more sensitive actions, such as online banking or product purchasing. Why shouldn’t these same tools be incorporated into the process of voter registration?
This new method has security checks to guard against fraud. Residents must have a valid Indiana driver’s license or state-issued identification card to submit a new voter registration application or to update an existing voter registration record. Voters will instantly receive a confirmation of their application that can be printed. Once confirmed, the county voter registration office will make the final approval or rejection of applicants based on criteria such as appropriate residency.
Historically, Indiana’s record for making access to the voting process easy and convenient has not been good. Online voter registration begins to improve that record. With this technology in place, we would hope the state would turn its attention to other areas that need improvement, such as shortening the amount of time between the registration deadline and Election Day.
Currently, that gap is one full month. The same types of tools and technology that make online registration possible can also be employed to close that ridiculous time lag between registration deadline and voting.
Still, the state is moving in the right direction. Keep it going.
