Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander last week added an "online tool that allows Missourians to fill out a voter registration form" through his office's website.
"When I took office a little less than a year ago, I committed to making the voting process in Missouri as secure and accessible as possible," he explained. "I, frankly, think that in this day and age it (online registration) just makes sense.
"I think that people have come to expect a certain level of service and convenience in their daily lives, and I don't see why state government should consider itself to be an exception to that - we should treat taxpayers as customers, and do everything we can to serve their needs."
State law already says that, with some specific exceptions like being incarcerated or on probation or parole for a criminal conviction, "any citizen of the United States who is a resident of the state of Missouri and seventeen years and six months of age or older shall be entitled to register and to vote in any election which is held on or after his eighteenth birthday."
The law also says anyone "who is qualified to vote, or who shall become qualified to vote on or before the day of election, shall be entitled to register in the jurisdiction within which he or she resides ... no later than 5:00 p.m. (on) the fourth Wednesday prior to the election."
Because of some federal law requirements, Missouri law also already allows people to register when they get a driver's or motor vehicle license, through the local library or by mail.
Kander said adding online registration "is no different than if you were to register by mail (and) actually increases the integrity of the voter registration process - because we're adding an extra layer of scrutiny to forms that are submitted online, by flagging any irregularities before sending them to the appropriate local election authority.
"From a practical perspective, it reduces the data entry error - due to the difficulties of deciphering poor handwriting."
Kander noted some people may do a better job spelling their name and address clearly on a computer than on a hand-written paper - so the online registration could cut some errors.
State law says people who register in person with the local election authority - the county clerks in Mid-Missouri - "shall identify himself or herself by presenting a copy of a birth certificate, a Native American tribal document, other proof of United States citizenship, a valid Missouri drivers license or other form of personal identification at the time of registration."
People who register by mail or online must show a proof of identification the first time they vote in person - or must have provided that information to the county clerk before the election.
And they are not to be given an absentee ballot until they have provided that identification to the election authority.
Kander said: "It's important to remember that this (new procedure) is just filling out the form online - they're not registered until it gets to the county clerk, like always."
And, since he announced the new service on Thursday, Kander said, "The feedback that we've had so far has been, universally, a sense that this makes sense. It's important to remember that 15 other states already have some form of this - including places like Kansas and Indiana.
"What this really comes down to is, this is not a change in the process at all - except for the voter's experience in the process."
His staff already has received more than 200 online registration requests.
The online registration is available at www.sos.mo.gov/votemissouri.
The first page asks several preliminary questions, with "yes/no" circles to be clicked on for the answers:
• Are you a citizen of the United States of America?
• Are you a Missouri resident?
• Are you at least 17½ years of age and will be 18 years of age on or before election day?
After answering those questions, the voter is directed to the next page, which is titled "Basic Identity Information," and asks whether the voter is seeking to make a new registration, address change or name change - then has a number of fill-in boxes to be completed.
After printing out the information and double-checking it, Kander's staff sends the completed forms to the local election officials.
"We're excited about this," Kander said. "In this day and age, I think, people have, understandably, become accustomed to a certain level of service (and) convenience. ...
"Now, we're bringing the voter registration process into the 21st century."
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