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Capitol View®
Tim Pugmire

Dayton signs bill to continue online voter registration

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The Minnesota Senate has passed legislation that will revive the online voter registration system that a judge ordered shut down this week.

Senators voted 41-24 today for the House version of a bill to authorize the system, which was launched by Secretary of State Mark Ritchie last fall. A judge ruled Monday that Ritchie exceeded his authority and said the original system had to shut down by midnight tonight.

Gov. Mark Dayton signed the bill tonight.

Sen. Katie Sieben, DFL- Newport, said it was important to keep an an online registration system in place.

“I think that voters across the state of Minnesota want the convenience of being able to register to vote online," she said. "They want the convenience of being able to apply for an absentee ballot online, and I don’t see any need to delay this further.”

Senate Republicans voted against the bill, even though most of them support online voter registration.

Sen. Scott Newman, R- Hutchinson,  said the House bill lacks the security protections that the Senate bill had.

“Specifically when I say website security and data security, I’m talking about people register to vote, and we know they are who they say they are, and that the information that the government received from these folks is in fact secure.”

Senate Democrats rejected all Republican efforts to change the bill.