DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Eligible voters in Iowa who have a state driver’s license or photo ID will be able to register online to vote by Jan. 1, ahead of the original November goal, Secretary of State Paul Pate said Thursday.
The Iowa Voter Registration Commission in January approved a rule allowing qualified voters to visit an Iowa Department of Transportation website where they can type in the numbers from their state-issued driver’s licenses or photo IDs to register to vote.
Information from the DOT, including voters’ signatures, will be electronically added to voter registration forms and automatically forwarded to the state’s voter database. Once an online application is completed, the voter is registered.
The Iowa system will allow voters to register anytime on their own computers or at an Iowa DOT kiosk or licensing station terminal.
The National Conference of State Legislatures said 23 states offer online registration and five others have passed legislation to create systems but have not yet implemented them.
Voters without a license or ID or who don’t have Internet service may still register by filling out paper applications. Pate estimates 93 percent of eligible Iowa voters can use the online system. Work continues to see if additional access can be enabled for those without a state-issued license or ID.
“We’d like to see the system be expanded to make accommodations for people who don’t have those kinds of things,” said Dane Schumann, legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa. “It is a good step forward and we do appreciate the fact that it’s coming online.”
Pate said 77 percent of Iowa’s eligible voters are registered and he hopes the convenience of online registration will increase participation. He said most people who live in Iowa take voting seriously but some become complacent or feel their voice doesn’t count.
“I just want to ensure them their voice does count,” Pate said.
He added that in some counties, only 2 percent of eligible voters recently cast ballots in school board elections.
“That’s dismal and that’s not acceptable,” he said. “Iowans, I think, are better than that and I want to challenge them to step up.”
Turnout for the 2012 general election in Iowa was 73.28 percent. It was 72.6 percent in 2008.
During last year’s midterm election, when national turnout was just 37 percent and the worst in more than 70 years, Iowa had 53 percent voter turnout.
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