By Mark Waite
Four more days remain to register to vote online. So far election officials in Nye County and the state of Nevada report a good response to the voter registration initiative.
Since the program began statewide in 2010, the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office reports 37,267 people have registered online through last Thursday. During the first seven days of a television and radio campaign, from Sept. 17 to Sept. 23, new voter registrations statewide averaged 550 per day, twice the number of new registrations during the first 16 days of September.
The Secretary of State reported as of last Thursday, there were 366 online voter registrations in Nye County, which has only had the program available since July.
Nye County Clerk Sam Merlino said when online voter registration began it was a pilot program in only a couple of counties, smaller counties didn’t get online until this year.
The Secretary of State reported 31,000 of those online voter registrations were in Clark County, which began offering online voter registration Aug. 31, 2010, two years before it was available in all 17 Nevada counties.
Merlino said there were only a couple of people registering to vote each day when the program began in Nye County.
But by last week, she said there have been about 50 online voter registrations per day, although perhaps 20 of them may be people canceling their registration after moving to places like Clark County.
The weekend of Sept. 22-23, Merlino said the Nye County clerk’s office received 79 online voter registrations. Last Tuesday there were 49, another 38 registered online on Thursday and 43 on Friday.
This past weekend another 77 county residents registered to vote using the Internet, she said.
Merlino said the only problem with online voter registration is there’s no way to reject an application when it’s submitted. She said snowbirds, who aren’t permanent residents, can only fill out a non-fixed resident absentee ballot to vote for president; 60 have applied this year. Persons who wish to vote in Nevada must show proof they consider Nevada their state of residency, she said, like a Nevada driver’s license.
“We had a lot of them register but the Secretary of State doesn’t know 1970 N. Leslie St. is a mailing house,” Merlino said.
The county clerk’s office has to notify those ineligible residents their voting application can’t be accepted, unless they show proper identification, Merlino said, or the clerk’s office will cancel their registration.
“We literally have to go through every voter who is inputted, verify it online,” she said.
A breakout wasn’t available on how many online registrations were Democrats or Republicans in Nye County. The Secretary of State’s office reported since the program began statewide in 2010 there were 13,618 voters registering online as Democrats and 10,670 as Republicans.
The state’s online voter registration website is www.Re NV.gov. There is also a new voter registration Facebook application at <a href=www.facebook.com/NVSOSNOVA.
>www.facebook.com
“My office is making it easier than ever for eligible voters in Nevada to register to vote before Oct. 6,” Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller said in a prepared statement. “Online voter registration is convenient, easy and secure.”
The Nevada Secretary of State’s office is also collaborating with businesses and libraries to provide access to online voter registration to residents who may not have easy access to a computer or the Internet. The Secretary of State’s office created a business tool at <a href=nvsos.gov/electioncenter/electioninformation.
>nvsos.gov
Television and stage performer Holly Madison donated air time for a 30 second video with the Secretary of State to provide information about online voter registration. Gov. Brian Sandoval partnered up in a video encouraging the military in Nevada to register to vote.
To register, residents need to be at least 18 years old by election day and have a valid Nevada driver’s license or DMV-issued identification card. The application process pulls the signature on file with the DMV and applies it to the voter’s registration record.
Online voter registration ends at 11:59 p.m. Saturday but people may register in person until Oct. 16 at the county clerk’s office.
The system has also created some confusion with voters in remote Currant, in northeastern Nye County, who receive their mail in White Pine County, she said.
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- Pahrump Valley Times file photo – Nye County Clerk Sam Merlino’s staff is busy trying to verify the eligibility of voters using an online registration system.
Well, maybe if we required ID to vote it wouldn’t be such an issue. Oh, wait, I forgot, we can’t do that or we risk disenfranchising people that are, ummmmmm, let’s say not smart enough to get an ID for voting…but I bet they have one to cash their welfare check or get their EBT card.
I am not allowed, as per PVT directive, to disagree with you Red So I will agree 100% with your post.
Paper, Paper and INK and then you have a paper trail.
I am not happy with this online voter registration.
Same for ballots, paper and ink toss the compromised computer voting machines.
I want a paper ballot I can put my own ink on.
I wonder how many people really understand the requirements for registering to vote in Nevada. I was a snowbird for 10 years here in Nevada. Had a Nevada license; Nevada registered vehicles; Nevada PO box; Nevada bank account; but, I had no Nevada address or any address anywhere in the country. I stayed in a RV resort for 4 to 5 months a year and wandered around the country sightseeing the rest of the year. So could I register to vote in Nevada? I considered Nevada my place of residence, but was a snowbird. I never registered to vote until I settled down here, but with a driver’s license, I could have registered?????
Getting a driver’s license and registering to vote establishes residency, even if you don’t own property here. Yes, you should have registered to vote. Of course, this would open you up for jury duty, as well. Even when you are travelling.
A one size fits all process doesn’t work for every situation and, clearly, not in a rural state like Nevada. The process looks at the applicant’s driver’s license data and uses the signature used there. If the person doesn’t have a driver’s license then the process will not work. Also, it fails to detect mail drops apart from post offices.
I don’t believe a person should have to produce a photo ID to exercise their right to vote, however, I DO believe they should have a photo ID to register, and the Motor Voter process seems to work the best, register to vote when getting a driver’s license.
Most importantly, don’t forget to VOTE. Early voting starts on October 20th with “Election Day” on November 6th.