LANSING – Michiganders should be able to register to vote online, state senators say.
The lawmakers voted 35-1 Thursday for five bills that would enact an electronic voter registration database operated through Secretary of State Ruth Johnson’s office.
Individuals electing to sign up this way must possess a valid driver’s license or official state ID card. Because driver’s license registration already exists online through the secretary of state’s website, supporters of the legislation say incorporating electronic registration in voting as well streamlines registration without compromising security.
The lone dissenter, Sen. Patrick Colbeck, a Republican from Canton Township, says past irregularities from the 2016 election make the stakes too high to add another potential point of entry for hackers.
The bills now head to the House, where similar bills already are under consideration.