Online Voter Registration

In August, New York became the 11th state to roll out online voter registration, and the state’s citizens seem to be taking advantage. As of the 17th of the month, approximately 1,000 applications had been submitted, and the early interest led to some brief capacity issues for the new website.

In July of this year, Maryland also joined the growing list of states allowing online voter registration. By early August, 23 people had registered to vote online, and 689 registered voters had used the site to change their addresses. Creating the online system cost the state just under half a million dollars. 

If Maryland and New York follow the path blazed by Arizona—which 10 years ago became the first state to use online voter registration—they will see those numbers increase. In Maricopa County, Arizona, the state’s largest county, nearly three quarters of all voter registrations submitted in 2012 have come via the online service as of July.