California voters may now register online Oct. 22 deadline to be able to cast ballot in November

(09-19) 04:00 PDT San Francisco -- Starting Wednesday, Californians can register to vote online, a change implemented just in time for the November presidential election.

Made possible by a 2011 bill authored by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, the online system will allow people whose signature is already on file with the state Department of Motor Vehicles to transfer their voter registration form electronically to county elections officials from the secretary of state's website. Since 2009, voters have been able to access a voter registration form online, but until now, they had to print it out and mail it in.

For the November election, Californians have until Oct. 22 to register.

"It's very exciting," said Secretary of State Debra Bowen, whose office is implementing the change. "I do think we'll have more people registering, particularly eligible voters under 30 who are just used to doing things online. And it makes it easier to ask friends and family to register. All you have to do is e-mail them a link - you don't have to carry around a pile of forms."

The change could certainly increase voter registration among young voters and other Internet-savvy Californians, said UC San Diego political science professor Thad Kousser - but he doesn't expect it to change the political landscape in November.

"Study after study shows that the reason young people don't turn out isn't because they are disengaged, or care more about partying than voting, but that it's all about the difficulties, the logistical challenge of staying registered when you move a lot. So anything that makes it easier for voters of any age to register and reregister ... has the potential to increase turnout across the board," he said.

And while Kousser said young voters do tend to be more liberal, particularly on hot-button social issues such as same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization, he does not believe there are statewide races or ballot measures this fall that will be significantly changed by an increase in their participation.

Down-ballot impact

University of San Francisco political scientist Corey Cook said removing barriers to voter participation is a critically important electoral change, but agreed that it won't be a game-changer.

"(President) Obama is going to win" the state, he said. "I wouldn't be surprised if, after the election, we see some down-ballot races, maybe a legislative race that is particularly close where you could say turnout made a difference ... but not statewide."

Others disputed the notion that the new, online system will mostly attract younger voters, saying online access transcends age.

"I just think that the ease of voter participation knows no ideology or age group - it's more an issue of convenience," Yee said.

Yee's bill, SB397, was approved by lawmakers a year ago and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in October. It's taken a year to get the secure online infrastructure built, a process that involved the secretary of state, the DMV and all 58 counties. The upgrades were aided by a $1.8 million federal grant, and Bowen said they will save money and reduce mistakes in the voter rolls.

"It will eliminate a phenomenal amount of retyping at the county level," she said. "It will reduce the amount of typos, save time and save money ... and you won't wind up with the same person on the rolls more than once because someone couldn't read the handwriting."

A logical step

Yee, who has championed other efforts to increase voter participation, said online registration is a logical step.

"It's an idea that has finally arrived - regardless of whatever minimal costs ... it's the right thing to do," he said. "It's embarrassing when we are supposedly the best example of a democratic government ... and the participation rate is so low. If there's a way of increasing that, we ought to explore it."

Just under 80 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the last presidential contest, and only 59 percent of eligible citizens voted.

Bruce Mirken of the Greenlining Institute, a Berkeley civil rights group that supported SB397, said the change will particularly help "make democracy more inclusive" for busy, working people.

"We are strongly in favor of making democracy easier to access, and we are glad that unlike so many other states where there are attempts to suppress voting, California is moving in the opposite direction and increasing voter access," he said. "Certainly young voters are an obvious constituency, but there are also a lot of working people for who it's just a hassle to go somewhere, fill out a form and mail it in."

But first, said Kousser, you have to get people to visit the website. "Just because you build a voter registration website doesn't mean people will come," he said. "It will take the same concerted efforts by political parties and nonpartisan groups to get the link in people's faces."

This article has been corrected since it appeared in print editions.