870 registrations filed in first 24 hours

LINCOLN, Neb. -- (Business Wire)

Following a year of design and development involving state agencies and IT vendors, NEReg2Vote went online Tuesday, September 22^nd to mark National Voter Registration Day. Governor Pete Ricketts issued a proclamation also naming September 22^nd Nebraska Online Voter Registration Day.

Secretary of State John Gale says he is very pleased with the public response to NEReg2Vote. In the first 24 hours, 870 registrations were submitted to Nebraska’s new online voter registration system.

“This is an exciting and important advance in our statewide election system,” explained Gale. “Now Nebraska residents can submit a new voter registration or update their current registration at anytime, anywhere from their computers or mobile devices.”

Nebraska is the 24^th state to implement an online voter registration system and the fourth in 2015 after Pennsylvania, Hawaii and Massachusetts. Arizona was first in 2002. Gale said he is anticipating an eager interest, and is excited to think that many users will log onto NEReg2Vote during the first week of service.

“Because it is new, we expect an initial surge in usage,” added Gale. “Other states have also indicated both an early surge as well as an overall increase in registration numbers after implementing their online systems. We hope this also translates into greater participation at the polls.”

By way of comparison, Massachusetts reported receiving 1,000 applications in the first 24 hours of launch, Pennsylvania had 4,859 in the first six days and Hawaii had 520 in the first two weeks. “This is very exciting news,” remarked Gale. “Considering the relative populations of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, we likely had the best 24-hour response by comparison. Of course, the best news is that 870 users were able to successfully complete the process without glitches.”

The web address is: www.ne.gov/go/NEReg2Vote. There is also a link on the front page of the Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.ne.gov.

Once there, users are asked to fill out their name, birthdate and driver’s license or state-issued identification number, as it appears on their card. This is important because the system is designed to securely retrieve and match the user’s personal information from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Users can update their name, address and party affiliation on their voter registration record. NEReg2Vote is also available in Spanish.

“In order to better assist users, we’ve also included a demonstration program on the website, to walk users through the application process and an FAQ page to help answer some of the most common questions about the system,” added Gale. “Applications submitted electronically are more secure, faster and more efficient. This reduces postage costs and errors that could result with paper registration forms.”

In order to complete their submission, users must attest to the fact that all of the information is true and accurate. Falsification of information could result in a felony charge, a deterrent against fraud.

Those can include mistakes resulting from having to interpret someone’s handwriting or through data entry. There is also a chance of a registration form being lost in the mail.

Before the electronic application reaches the appropriate county election official, the signature of the applicant is retrieved from the DMV database.

That is another secure feature NEReg2Vote. Because it is electronically transmitted, the signature cannot be shared or reproduced in any way. It is only added to the user’s application after they have submitted their data. As with all paper voter applications, those transmitted digitally will be reviewed individually by the appropriate county election official.

Gale said that, “if the application contains the required and correct information, it will be approved. If there is a problem, the applicant will be notified as to what additional information needs to be supplied.”

In addition to the Secretary of State’s office, two other state agencies were also involved: the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and the DMV as well as three IT vendors: Election Systems and Software (ES&S), MorphoTrust and Nebraska Interactive, Inc. (NI).

Gale thanked Senator Bob Krist of Omaha for championing the legislation that led to the development of NEReg2Vote. A second part of that legislation, implemented in 2016 will also allow employees at the DMV to register users electronically. “This new process will allow the data to be entered directly into the system and transmitted electronically to the county election office – no paper needed.”

Gale said that when the legislature first examined the possibility of initiating an online voter registration system in 2011, the associated costs and technological needs were largely unknown. “Based on research conducted by my office in 2013, the time was right to move ahead with LB 661. Since then, nine states, including Nebraska have added online voter registration.”

Users can find out more about online Government services in Nebraska through:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/nebraskagov
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nebraska.gov

About Nebraska.gov

Nebraska.gov is managed by Nebraska Interactive, LLC part of eGovernment firm NIC’s (NASDAQ: EGOV) family of companies. Nebraska Interactive works with state, county and city agencies to enable them to conduct business online and improve public access to government information.

About NIC

Founded in 1992, NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV) is the nation's leading provider of official government websites, online services, and secure payment processing solutions. The company's innovative eGovernment services help make government more accessible to everyone through technology. The family of NIC companies provides eGovernment solutions for more than 3,500 federal, state, and local agencies in the United States. Forbes has named NIC as one of the “100 Best Small Companies in America” six times, most recently ranked at No. 36 (2014), and the company has been included four times on the Barron’s 400 Index. Additional information is available at http://www.egov.com.

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Contacts:

Nebraska.gov
Carmen Easley, 402-471-2154
Director of Marketing and Operations
carmen@egov.com

Source: Nebraska.gov