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ON-LINE VOTING REGISTRATION IN WV - Voter Turnout In WV Dismal |
| (10/06/2015) |
| West Virginians should be able to register to vote without leaving home. Secretary of State Natalie Tennant's office is doing "final testing" this week on its website to allow online voter registration. It's been more than two years since the Legislature, at Tennant's request, passed a law authorizing online voter registration in West Virginia. The bill passed the state Senate unanimously in 2013 and passed the House 79-20, with Republican delegates in opposition. Voter turnout in recent West Virginia elections has been dismal. In 2012, West Virginia came in last in the country in voter turnout and fewer than 23 percent of young people (ages 18 through 24) voted, the worst voting record of any age group in any state in the country. Things didn't get better last year, when only 37 percent of registered voters showed up, the lowest number since at least 1950. To register online, a potential voter will first need to have a West Virginia driver's license or a Department of Motor Vehicles-issued ID card. To register, a person will go to the Secretary of State's website, www.wvsos.com, where they will fill in relevant information, including name, address and date of birth. Since a signature is required to register to vote, the website will then pull the potential voter's signature that is on record with the DMV to complete the application. The information will then be sent electronically to the county clerk where the voter lives, who will double check information and put the voter in the proper precinct. The voter will then get a voter registration card in the mail from the county clerk. |
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