On December 5th, in a press conference from the Idaho Capitol, Secretary of State Lawerence Denney unveiled a project that has been one of his desires since his first days in office - an Online Voter Registration System.
"When I first took office, I had a significant list of things that I wanted to get done, and it seemed that everything had an IT or technological component to it. We found some limiting factors in our existing technology, and immediately set out a process to remove those limitations," said Secretary Denney.
In 2016, the Secretary's office began to seek both the funding and the legistative support to begin a number of IT initiatives, one of which was to clear the way for Online Voter Registration in Idaho. That bill passed during the 2016 session, with project implementation starting that July.
In connection with the new Online Voter Registration system, the Secretary's office completely redesigned the logo and website for IdahoVotes.gov, the new address for the online registration system. Idahoans can use IdahoVotes.gov to search for their polling location, see if they are currently registered, or check on an absentee ballot. Now, with an Idaho Driver's License or State Issued ID Card, they can also register to vote or update an existing registration.
"Today, our vision becomes a reality," says Secretary Denney. "Idahoans can now register to vote, online, wherever they are. Combining this new Online Voter Registration functionality, the all new look of the Idaho Votes site, and all of the thought that went into this, this is a big day." To improve accessibility, the site  was reviewed and feedback incorporated from the Idaho commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. To accommodate the different voting calendars of counties, the site recognizes when a potential registration is beyond the registration deadline and prompts the user to print the registration and take it with them to the polls. "Because of the thought that went into the design, the system doesn,t have
to 'shut down'. It just handles the registration appropriately, advises the voter of the deadline and provides the options for completing the registration."
The rollout of the site was coordinated to allow time to provide training and media resources to all Idaho counties. There is also an available 30 second PSA in both video and audio only formats. These PSAs can be accessed at https://idahovotes.gov/media-page along with the online and print media developed for the site.
View the full site at https://ldahoVotes.gov