Dear Friends,

This weekend, our legislation creating online voter registration was signed into law by the governor. By this time next year, you will be able to register to vote or change your registration online on the State Board of Elections’ website.

This is truly an exciting moment for Illinois. History shows that online voter registration works. When Arizona adopted online registration, it saw a nearly 10 percent increase in registered voters. Now, nearly 70 percent of that state’s voter registrations are performed online.

A California study showed that it’s not just young, upper-class people who register online, either. A majority of the people who use this tool are middle class or low income. More women use it than men, and the majority of men who register online are over the age of 35.

This new system should also save the state money. In Arizona, processing a paper registration application costs 83 cents. Processing an online application costs 3 cents. Given the state of Illinois’ budget, every cent counts.

Thank you again for all your help and support in passing this law. We couldn’t have done it without you.

Sincerely,

Senator Don Harmon
39th District – Illinois