More than 560,000 Californians have used the Secretary of State’s Online Voter Registration site to register to vote or update their registration information during the first quarter of 2016, officials recently announced.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the youngest cohort of voters — ages 17-25 — accounted for more than 36 percent of the total online registrations. The numbers don't include paper-based registrations.
"Online voter registration is empowering a new generation of Californians,” Secretary of State Alex Padilla said. “We are witnessing a wave of young Californians engaging in the democratic process. The timing says everything — they want to vote.”
Online registration appears to be picking up ahead of California's June 7 primary. The secretary of state reports there were 92,000 new voter registrations or registration updates through the voter registration website in January, 147,000 in February and 323,000 in March.
During the entirety of 2014, there were about only 425,000 completed registrations or updated registrations through the voter registration website.
"This surge in online voter registration suggests that elections officials throughout our state should be preparing for a surge in turnout during the June 7 Presidential Primary Election," Padilla said. “Online voter registration is quick, easy, smartphone-friendly and available in 10 languages at RegisterToVote.ca.gov."
