Committee approves rule changes to make voting easier

Utah residents who have a driver's license or state-issued identification card would have the option to register to vote electronically under provisions of a bill approved by a House committee Tuesday afternoon.

SB25, sponsored by Sen. Pete Knudson, R-Brigham City, has already been approved by the Senate and will move on to the House floor for debate after passage by the House Government Operations Standing Committee. Knudson told the committee that similar systems are in place in Washington and Arizona, and those states have had "a very successful experience" with the electronic process.

Michael Cragun, deputy chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert, explained to the committee that under the new system a prospective voter would enter information through a secure Web site that would be compared and verified with information on the state's database of licensed drivers and ID card holders, including the registrant's signature. Cragun said the new system should reduce workloads on county clerks, encourage voting and establish a higher level of information accuracy in the process.

In another voting-related bill before the committee Tuesday, SB24, also sponsored by Knudson, early voting polling locations will be required to be distributed proportionally for first-class counties in the state (currently, only Salt Lake County). This bill was amended from a version heard last week and held by the committee that called for locations in "every Senate district." The new version earned committee approval and was received positively by Salt Lake County's chief deputy clerk, Jason Yocom, who was in attendance.

"This is the approach that makes the most sense and is, essentially, what we've been doing," Yocom said. "We're happy to see this version of the bill advance."

Yocom said his office plans and locates early-voting locations very carefully, taking many factors into account, including where people live, commuting routes and accessibility.

SB24 now moves to the House floor for consideration.

E-MAIL: araymond@desnews.com