In the state of Washington, the Seattle Times has reported that voters will soon be able to register to vote using a new Facebook application. Currently, twelve states, including Washington, offer online voter registration. This move by Washington to social media, however, is the first. This application could quickly spread to other states already utilizing online voter registration, especially if it proves to be successful.
State officials have been quick to assure that Facebook will not collect information provided through the app. The application will use Facebook user information to autofill the name and date of birth categories, but users will need to provide their driver’s license or state ID number to complete their registration. While the information all goes straight to the State, users don’t have to leave Facebook to complete the registration process.
While Facebook cannot track private information being provided on the registration forms, they can gather a significant amount of information about those using the application from user profile pages. For more information, check out:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2018708620_apusvoterregistrationfacebook.html
Sure – Why not use technology for all voting! As long as you can verity your identity, I’ve always contended that we should make voting easier. It’s disheartening when the majority of registered voters don’t event take the time to vote in the presidential election every four years, especially young people. As an election officer, I can tell you that it is very inconvenient to go to a local polling place to stand in line to push a button. Someday people will ask why it took so long for this to catch on.
That will be quite a transformative day when we can finally vote online. Imagine the participation. And the attempted hacks!
I’m a big fan of this. Sounds like there is potential for increasing voter participation. Hope to see a follow-up story after the election to show differences from pre-facebook years.