Georgia very quietly unveils online voter registration

[Adam Griffin]

I just found out about it today, but there's a blog post from one of Peach Pundit's contributors, Rep. Brockway, that I found after searching the news for stories. This was initially passed two years ago but hadn't been implemented until this week. No major outlets have picked up on this yet - and there doesn't appear to be any public announcement from the SoS - but it's live. This couldn't come soon enough, as Georgia currently ranks 48th in the nation in VR (as a % of adults):

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[Brittain33]

How long before the legislature shuts it down?

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

How the hell did the Georgia GOP let this happen?!

[Adam Griffin]

How long before the legislature shuts it down?

How the hell did the Georgia GOP let this happen?!

Oddly enough, it was the GAGOP that passed it; they had an almost-but-not-quite supermajority when it was passed in 2012. It was sponsored by Democrats on behalf of the Republican SoS.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

How long before the legislature shuts it down?

How the hell did the Georgia GOP let this happen?!

Oddly enough, it was the GAGOP that passed it; they had an almost-but-not-quite supermajority when it was passed in 2012. It was sponsored by Democrats on behalf of the Republican SoS.

I must say this is very odd of a Southern state GOP to make voting easier.

[ilikeverin]

How long before the legislature shuts it down?

How the hell did the Georgia GOP let this happen?!

Oddly enough, it was the GAGOP that passed it; they had an almost-but-not-quite supermajority when it was passed in 2012. It was sponsored by Democrats on behalf of the Republican SoS.

I must say this is very odd of a Southern state GOP to make voting easier.

Oddly, many SoSes (R and D alike) have been quietly pushing for things like online voter registration.  The question is whether their legislatures listen to them.

[muon2]

Online voter registration can be more secure than traditional methods. Traditional registration sometimes requires nothing more than a registrar accepting a signed form where the voters attest that they are who they say and live where they claim. Confirming eligibility to vote can be difficult. Online registration links to the SoS database and can correlate a voter's name to an address based on license or other state ID and verify eligibility.

[angus]

I've never done it on line.  Do they ask you "what was your first girlfriend's favorite restaurant?" and "did your father wear a mullet during the third quarter of 1986?"  like they do when you forget your bank ID and password?  Well, the second question would be yes for everyone, but you know what I mean.  There are questions that are harder to answer than what is your social security number, and do they do that sort of verification in money transactions on the internet.  I like those. 

[Indy Texas]

Perhaps they erroneously assumed that poor people don't have Internet access.

[Adam Griffin]

Final tally: Almost 12,000 Georgians used new online voter registration system

Nearly 12,000 voters used Georgia’s new online registration system by Monday’s deadline. The system was officially launched on March 31.

The final tally (11,970) more than doubled the goal of Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s office (5,000). The system registered 6,884 new voters, and 5,086 voters who were already registered used it to update their residency information.

This averages out to around 330 new registrations and 240 updates of existing RVs per day over the period. This indicates that the pace of use picked up quite a bit, as I helped a friend register on the fifth day it was live and the confirmation it gave her was "703", which I can only assume was indicative of the 703rd processed request in the system.

For some odd reason, though, online registration is now "closed". I want to figure out why; seems like these could just be processed after the deadline for the primary run-off and general elections.

[badgate]

For some odd reason, though, online registration is now "closed". I want to figure out why; seems like these could just be processed after the deadline for the primary run-off and general elections.

Dunno...maybe they're worried about people registering during that window where they missed the deadline, but showing up at the polls?

[Adam Griffin]

For some odd reason, though, online registration is now "closed". I want to figure out why; seems like these could just be processed after the deadline for the primary run-off and general elections.

Dunno...maybe they're worried about people registering during that window where they missed the deadline, but showing up at the polls?

AFAIK, paper registration has never been halted because of that. The way I understand how this system works, all it does is deposit the registrations in an online version of the system at the Boards of Election if a driver's license on file can be matched, where each application still has to be reviewed by a worker. I know they have enough expertise to spot a timestamp on the application, which it has based on the fact that it's on the confirmation/receipt given after you register. Seems fishy, but the AJC referred to as very non-chalantly, so there's probably something else to it.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Perhaps they planned this all along so as to give them a chance to review the problems that crop up and fix them before reopening registration in time for the general election.  There almost certainly will be problems, especially if demand has been heavier than expected.

[KingSweden]

Perhaps they planned this all along so as to give them a chance to review the problems that crop up and fix them before reopening registration in time for the general election.  There almost certainly will be problems, especially if demand has been heavier than expected.

That's what I would imagine too.