Under Florida law, a person who wants to vote must mail or deliver a voter registration form to an elections office, a decades-old system that elections supervisors say is cumbersome and expensive.

A bill by Rep. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, would create an online voter registration system in 2018, after the next presidential election. Her bill (HB 1161) has the best chance of passage, because Republicans control both houses of the Legislature.

“Look how many times government has put technology in place and screwed it up.” Passidomo said. “I want to make sure it’s working. … If it could be done sooner, that would be great. There’s no intent to just drag it out.”

The League of Women Voters of Florida says it should be done sooner, and that people already have waited far too long for a basic convenience that’s now a matter of routine in nearly half of the country.

“It’s a mystery to us, and it should be of great concern to voters,” League President Deirdre Macnab said. “This is not rocket science. It’s a win-win. There’s no reason for delay.”

League members are expected to push for the quicker timetable this week when they hold their annual two-day lobbying blitz at the Capitol, including a gala at the historic Old Capitol with Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, and other legislative leaders.

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The effort is already underway, and online registration should be available before next fall’s local government elections, he said.

Pate, a Republican, will succeed Matt Schultz as the state’s top elections administrator after winning a statewide election in November. The transition opens a new chapter for an office that was at the center of several legal and political fights over the last four years.

In an interview with The Des Moines Register, the secretary-elect outlined several elections-related priorities as well as improvements to the office’s business registration functions. His ultimate goal, he said, is to increase access to the polls and voter participation while maintaining ballot security.

“All elections offices in the country really have to work harder at keeping the technology updated and balancing out participation with integrity,” he said.

His first action will be on the participation side of the ledger. Online voter registration was highlighted by Pate and his Democratic challenger alike during the campaign and appears to have broad bipartisan support.

Regulations creating an online voter registration process have already been drafted and likely will get a formal hearing before the end of the year. Pate called Web registration the most significant expansion of voter access since Iowa enacted a motor-voter law linking registration with driver licensing.

Read More Here: desmoinesregister.com

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