It seems that Facebook is able to do just about anything these days and now Washington State is looking to make it so that people can register to vote through Facebook. Online voter registration has already been in effect in Washington since 2008, but allowing users to register to vote through Facebook will open a different avenue.
According to a report by Mashable, Microsoft has designed an application that will trigger a pop-up for eligible state voters when they sign-in to their Facebook page. Basically, it will redirect people to the state’s registration page with some of their information already filled out based on the information they provided to Facebook. Although the application has not been formally launched yet, it is supposed to be available toward the end of this week according to a comment made by Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed. Facebook has not released an official statement yet.
“This is a great way to push the use of our online registration system. Especially for younger folks,” said Shane Hamlin, codirector of elections in Washington.
One thing that will be absolutely necessary for voters looking to register online will be a valid state identification card or driver’s license. Without the official number from one of these IDs, you will not be allowed to register.
Online voting is also available in other states such as Louisiana, Colorado and Kansas. The goal is that if the new application works well for those wishing to register to vote in Washington state, other states that allow online registration will follow suit. Facebook voter registration is certainly going to make things different, and hopefully simpler.
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