New Florida website allows you to register to vote

St Johns County Supervisor of Elections Vicky Oakes reported to Historic City News that the Florida Department of State has launched the state’s new online voter registration website, RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov

Florida residents now have another convenient, secure and easy-to-use way to register to vote or update an existing registration. The website went “live” on Sunday, October 1, 2017 as directed by the Florida Legislature in Section 97.0525 Florida Statutes.

“At the direction of the Florida Legislature, the department has been hard at work the last two years spearheading the effort to create and implement an online voter registration website that provides Floridians with a secure and more easily accessible way to register to vote,” said Secretary of State Ken Detzner. “The right to vote is sacred in our country and I hope that with this new and convenient method, more Floridians will register to vote and engage in the electoral process.”

In 2015, the Florida Legislature passed, and Governor Rick Scott signed into law, a bill directing the department to implement online voter registration on October 1, 2017. Florida joins 35 other states and the District of Columbia that have online voter registration available to their residents. Detzner thanked Florida’s 67 county Supervisors of Elections, for their key role in ensuring the success of online voter registration.

Any Florida resident who is eligible to vote, or is already registered to vote in Florida, can use RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov to submit an application, update an existing registration, or pre-fill an application form to print and deliver to a Supervisor of Elections office.

Users will need a Florida driver license or state identification (ID) card and the last four digits of their social security number to complete and submit the voter registration application electronically. Once an individual’s identity is verified and the application is deemed complete, a voter information card is issued by the local Supervisor of Elections office.

The website has multiple safeguards in place to verify and protect a person’s identity and personal information, including:

• a state-of-the-art firewall
• data encryption
• captcha boxes
• session time-out after inactivity
• use of multi-screens

The website requires information that only the person seeking to register or change an existing registration should know, such as the issued date of their Florida driver license or state ID card, their Florida driver license or state ID card number and the last four digits of their social security number. All of this information is verified in real-time in order for a person to complete the application process online.

If the information cannot be verified, a person is not able to move forward with submitting the application electronically. Additionally, there is no retention of data within the RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov website because it is securely transmitted to an internal system. It is important to note that Florida public records laws still apply to voter registration information that is submitted electronically.

The website is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is offered in English and Spanish, is accessible for persons with disabilities, and is mobile-friendly.