Kim A. Barton, Alachua County Supervisor of Elections

Now is the time to update your voter registration — even if you have no changes to make.

When I started at the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections in 1993, the voter registration process looked a lot different than it does today. We were at the advent of computer-based databases, but paper ruled. Everyone’s voter registration information lived on a paper form.

Since then, the technology used to administer elections has improved dramatically. Most of what we do today is done using a computer in some way, and while we keep the paper forms, the advancements make finding information a lot easier. One of the biggest — yet most recent — updates is the rollout of online voter registration.

Florida’s online voter registration system was introduced in 2017. It’s steadily grown in popularity, with more and more voters choosing to register to vote for the first time or update their registration using the online portal.

The tool — found at RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov — will be especially helpful as we move toward the 2022 election cycle and beyond.

Changes resulting from the most recent legislative session’s Senate Bill 90 require a voter to verify either his or her Social Security number or Florida Driver License/Florida ID number in order to request a mail ballot or change his or her registration address by phone.

Florida's online voter registration portal, located at RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov, requires both the last four digits of the voter's Social Security number and a Florida Driver License/Florida ID. By registering to vote or updating a registration online, a voter guarantees that his or her voter record will have both pieces of information that can be used for verification.

A voter can also return a paper Florida Voter Registration Application that includes the last four digits of his or her Social Security number and Florida Driver License/Florida ID number. These forms can be returned by mail to 515 N. Main St., Suite 300, Gainesville, FL 32601. They may also be returned in person to any public library or our office, as well as several other public locations.

No registration information needs to have changed to submit a new application. If you want to make sure your voter registration record has all the information we could need, you can submit an online or paper application that has the same information as your current registration.

Of Alachua County's roughly 195,000 registered voters, there are about 22,000 voters whose voter registration records do not list a Social Security number or Florida Driver License/Florida ID number.

These records are from voters who registered for the first time prior to this information being required to register to vote. Now, any voter who has a Florida Driver License/Florida ID or a Social Security number is required to provide it — or the last four digits of it in the case of the Social Security number — in order to register to vote.

Voters are always asking how they can help our office between elections. Making sure our office has updated information is one of the most important ways voters can help us, while also helping themselves.

I encourage voters with questions to reach out to me at kbarton [at] alachuacounty.us or 352-374-5252. Serving as your supervisor of elections continues to be among the greatest privileges of my life.

As published by The Gainesville Sun, July 14, 2021

See the original article here: https://www.gainesville.com/story/opinion/2021/07/14/kim-a-barton-update-your-voter-registration-information/7919008002/