Oregon Public Broadcasting

Registering to vote in Oregon could soon be as easy as a few clicks of the mouse.  State lawmakers are considering a bill that would make Oregon one of a handful of states to allow online voter registration.  Salem correspondent Chris Lehman reports.

You could soon be able to sign up to vote in your PJ’s in Oregon.  Actually, you can do that already.  But you have to print out the form, find a stamp and put it in the mail.

 Lawmakers want to make it even easier.  

Democratic Representative Ben Cannon of Portland is sponsoring a bill that would allow Oregonians to register online starting in 2011.

Rep. Ben Cannon:  “What we’re envisioning here is a one-click process for voter registration, so, lowering that barrier to participation.”

Since you can’t sign an online registration form, elections officials would use the signature on your driver’s license to authenticate your ballot on Election Day.

If the bill passes, Oregon would join its neighbor to the north as one of the few states to allow online voter registration.

Officials in Olympia say one-third of all voter registrations were done online last year, the first year it was allowed.

The online voter registration bill gets its first hearing Wednesday afternoon in Salem. 

Online:

Oregon House Bill 2386

Washington state online voter registration