The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure equal justice for all through the rule of law, targeting in particular the inequities confronting African Americans and other racial and ethnic minorities. The Lawyers’ Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to enlist the private bar’s leadership and resources in combating racial discrimination and the resulting inequality of opportunity – work that continues to be vital today.
Jennifer L. Patin, Researcher/Writer, Voting Rights Project, collaboration with Rose Clouston and Brendan Downes, have written a Research Paper, "Online Voter Registration: Accessible for All?".
As of January 2016, 29 states and the District of Columbia have online voter registration (OVR) systems. Two additional states are set to launch OVR in the near future. While OVR represents an important advancement in our democracy, its convenience and accessibility in most states benefit Americans who tend to be wealthier and whiter than the population at large. This is because the majority of states offering OVR require voters to provide a state-issued DMV ID number (most commonly from a driver’s license) in order to complete the process entirely online. Those who lack driver’s licenses, a population that is disproportionately Black, Latino, and low-income, must print, sign, and mail completed applications to local elections officials. These additional steps prevent traditionally disenfranchised communities from fully realizing the benefits of OVR.
Using a DMV ID number, a state can easily retrieve an applicant’s signature from the state DMV database, eliminating the need for the applicant to sign the OVR application. Yet a handful of states have developed OVR systems that provide for alternative methods of verifying an applicant’s identity and signature. This brief highlights the practices of those states with OVR systems that are fully accessible to all eligible voters, regardless of whether they possess a driver’s license, and encourages other states to adopt similar systems.
CLICK HERE to read the paper.
This is the system I would implement:
1. You go to the DMV and get or renew your license or non-driver ID card. At this time your picture is taken. Usually this is where you get a voter registration form.
2. When you are ready to register to vote, you should be able to do it online, as your picture and signature is already on file.
3. When you go to the poll, there is an electronic poll book that will bring up your information including your picture. You will sign using a signature pad like you do when you use your credit card at a store.
I think we are not ready for voting online, from a security issue and as voting absentee, there is no way to check you are the person voting that is the person registered.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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