Have a valid CA driver's license or state issued ID card? Not registered to vote or you've moved since the last election? Well now you can register to vote on your laptop or mobile device thanks to a new online voter registration program launched yesterday.
Go to this link to get started: https://rtv.sos.ca.gov/elections/register-to-vote/
You must file an application by Oct. 22 to qualify to vote for the November election.
According to the California Secretary of State's website, all you need to do is provide your ID number from a valid California drivers license or state-issued identification card, the last 4 digits of your Social Security number, and your date of birth in order to file electronically.
The online system will search the Department of Motor Vehicles database for the applicant's driver's license and other identifying information and match it to the electronic form. Elections officials will use an electronic image of the voter's DMV signature to complete the application.
All electronic applications will be verified using the same process used to review paper applications submitted by mail or voter registration drives.
Those without a California drivers license, state ID or Social Security number can still fill out an application online, but they will have to print it out, sign it and mail it in.
Voters need to register to vote every time they change addresses, party affiliation or if they wish to become permanent absentee (vote-by-mail) voters.
"Today, the Internet replaces the mailbox for thousands of Californians wishing to register to vote," Secretary of State Bowen said at a Sacramento news conference. According to Bowen, 9,596 applications were filed online in the first 18 hours of the system's operations Wednesday.
California has one of the lowest rates of voter registration in the country, with more than a quarter of eligible Californians unregistered according to Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation. "We're hoping that this new system will encourage more young people to get registered. This is going to make the process more accessible to more people."
