Today, January 28, Montana Secretary of State Linda McCulloch testified before the state legislature about House Bill 48, a bill that would make it possible for Montanans to register to vote online. McCulloch says the system would be safer and better than the current paper registration process.

"It would allow us to capture signatures through the Department of Motor Vehicles," McCulloch said. "It's actually a process that's as secure, perhaps even more so, than the paper form for registration, because it only goes through the Department of Motor Vehicles. Lets face it, we pay our taxes online, we pay bills online, a lot of us like to shop online... it's very safe, because it just goes through that one agency."

McCulloch says paper registration forms would still be available, but also pointed out some of the flaws in that system.

Filling it out online is actually an advantage, because lots of times when people fill it out on paper, you can't read their writing, or its incomplete and counties end up having to call the people... if they can read the phone number. [Online],  you can't submit the form until its all filled out."

Another issue McCulloch points out is that HB 48 would allow U.S. Servicemen and Servicewomen to register to vote year round, even if they happen to be deployed in another part of the world.

A similar bill was put forward during the 2013 legislative cycle and was also supported by McCulloch. When asked what happened to the bill, she said “It died a painful death." The cause of that death, McCulloch said, was because legislators "like to get side-tracked."

 

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