Iowa to Offer Online Voter Registration

The Iowa Voter Registration Commission unanimously approved a rule Jan. 20 allowing the state to create a system for qualified voters to complete their registrations online.

The new system will import information from the Iowa Department of Transportation’s records, including the applicant’s signature, into voter registration forms and then automatically forward the completed forms to the state's voter database.

According to The Muscatine Journal, new Secretary of State Paul Pate (R-IA) said this rule will allow 93 percent of citizens with a motor vehicles record to register online, and amendments can be made to the regulation to incorporate those who do not have an ID issued by the Department of Transportation.

State officials said it will take approximately 18 months to prepare the online voter registration program and they hope to roll it out in time for the June 2016 primary. Twenty states offer online voter registration, and several others are in the process of implementing such systems.

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