Report Shows Online Voter Registration Improves Voter Lists and Reduces Costs

Article January 8, 2014 Read time:

Projects: Election Initiatives

The Pew Charitable Trusts recently released the results of a survey of the 13 states that offered online voter registration as of June 2013. Since implementing online registration, most states report cost savings as well as increases in voter satisfaction and decreases in administrative burdens. The average cost to build and implement the majority of these systems was $240,000. States that analyzed their cost data noted that, although creating and rolling out a system involves an initial expense, it is quickly offset by the cost savings.

States use a variety of tools to make online registration convenient for voters and to keep their systems secure.

Eight states make voter registration available in multiple languages.
Four states optimized their systems for mobile devices. Several states that do not currently offer this feature hope to add it in the future.
None of the states experienced a security breach, including Arizona where voters have been registering online for over a decade.
Most states report that a major benefit of their online system is reduced opportunities for registration fraud.

In 2013, two states added online voter registration and five more began developing systems. As more states make this option available to voters, Pew will continue to study the implementation and effectiveness of these systems.