For Immediate Release September 25, 2012
Shahryar Abbasi, ASUC External Affairs Vice President ([email protected]; 925-212-4487)
CALIFORNIA INTRODUCES NEW ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION PROCESS
In an effort to bring the democratic process into the new technological age, California moves one step closer to increasing accessibility to voter registration.
By Ada Gu, ASUC Office of the External Affairs Vice President BERKELEY, Calif.—Registering to vote is becoming easier than ever with the launch of an online registration system Wednesday, September 19th. In an increasingly technologically connected world, where the internet is more accessible than a mailbox, this is a strong move forward by California elections officials hoping to increase accessibility to the democratic process.
This process has allowed the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) to partner with the University of California Student Association (UCSA), CALPIRG, and Rock the Vote to create an online portal to help register students that is available through http://www.californiastudentvote.org. Students should remember to list their university to help show which university is registering the most students to vote. Under the new law, the online form is also available for applicants to fill out at the Secretary of State’s website. To ensure registration security, the application, which will request date of birth and the last four digits of the applicant’s Social Security number, will be checked against their driver’s license or state identification card. If the application is successful, an electronic image of the applicant’s DMV signature will be added to the application at the end. However, if no signature is on file with the DMV, applicants will be required to print out the form and mail a completed version to the county election’s office.
The introduction of this new process is “great news for Democracy.” This statement issued by Secretary of State Debra Bowen was supported by state lawmakers as well as voter advocates, who have an invested interest in the upcoming November election. This online portal comes at a time when the ASUC Vote Coalition, a non-partisan organization, has been working towards registering residents in the Berkeley community. The coalition is UC Berkeley’s student government’s official voter registration coalition composed of student organizations on campus, such as CalPIRG and Cal Berkeley Democrats. Collectively, the coalition has a goal of registering 12,000 students, striving to raise the profile of voting on campus and foster an atmosphere of democratic involvement among students. Supporters of this move say it will help more than 6 million qualified but unregistered Californians to take part in the November elections. As of May, 72% of California’s 23.7 million eligible voters were registered.
The deadline for voter registration in California is October 22, two weeks before the November 6 general election. This election, which features the presidential race, critical state ballot initiatives and local council and mayoral races, requires active participation from all eligible voters.
The online application process resulted from legislation passed last year by state Sen. Leland Yee, ahead of a delayed federally required statewide voter database. According to Yee, the online registration process will not only increase voter information accuracy but will also reduce costs and allow more voters to take part in the elections. An online application does not lead to automatic registration as county election officials must verify the information before the applicant is able to vote.
When the bill was passed in California, eleven other states including North Carolina, Oregon and Washington were either already offering or were in the process of offering online registration. Now California will join their ranks and facilitate the democratic process by making the voter registration process easier for the remaining 6 million qualified Californians.
Students and all eligible voters can register to vote now through http://www.californiastudentvote.org. Please remember to list your university in the process.
THE ASUC EXTERNAL AFFAIRS VICE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE WORKS AS THE OFFICIAL BRANCH OF UC BERKELEY’S STUDENT GOVERNMENT TO ADVOCATE FOR STUDENTS ON THE LOCAL, STATE, AND NATIONAL LEVELS. CALPIRG IS A STATE-WIDE, STUDENT-DIRECTED AND STUDENT-FUNDED NONPROFIT THAT WORKS TO STAND UP FOR THE PUBLIC AGAINST POWERFUL SPECIAL INTERESTS AND ENSURE THE PUBLIC’S RIGHT TO FULLY PARTICIPATE IN OUR DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY. CAL DEMS IS THE OFFICIAL ARM OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ON CAL’S CAMPUS AND THE LARGEST CAMPUS CHAPTER OF THE CALIFORNIA COLLEGE DEMOCRATS.
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