Californians Will Soon Be Able to Register to Vote Online

Media Contacts

SB 397 Signed into Law

CALPIRG

Sacramento, CA—California’s Secretary of State is officially allowed to pursue online voter registration, and has a goal of getting a system up a running in time for the 2012 elections.

“California’s voter registration system is took a giant leap into the 21st century today,” said Pedro Morillas, CALPIRG legislative director. “What might have been considered science fiction 20 years ago is now a reality for California voters.”

Here is a link to a 2009 CALPIRG report on how much money counties in CA and across the country spend administering the paper voter registration process:  Saving Dollars, Saving Democracy

CALPIRG students have a long history of registering young people to vote. The Student PIRG’s New Voters Project registered 118,000 young voters across the country in time for the 2008 election.  Simplifying and streamlining the process here in California will make it even easier to get young people involved.  Since 2003 the New Voter’s project has registered more than 700,000 young voters.

“As someone who has stood for hours on campus quads with registration forms and a clipboard, I know this bill will make it easier for new voters to participate in our democracy,” said Vince Slevin, UCLA student and CALPIRG Student Board Chair. “Students register for classes, pay their bills, and turn in their homework online—registering to vote online will just be so much easier.”

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The California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) is a result-oriented public interest group that protects consumers, encourages a fair sustainable economy, and fosters responsive democratic governance.