The Pros and Cons of Letting Voters Register Online

The Texas House Elections Committee recently considered bills to make Texas the 21st state to allow citizens to register to vote online.

The committee left both bills pending after hearing criticism primarily from Harris County, including Tax Assessor-Collector Mike Sullivan, Ed Johnson from the County Clerk's office, and Alan Vera, who chairs the Ballot Security Committee of the Harris County GOP.

Houston Democrat Carol Alvarado sponsors one of the bills, HB 953, which she says would curb government waste. She maintains paper registration costs more and requires more manpower than online registration. Opponents argue the current system works fine as is.

Today, we hear highlights of Sullivan’s testimony before the committee (Sullivan declined our invitation to appear on today’s program), and then we talk with Rep. Alvarado. We also hear from Dr. Jon Taylor, Chair and Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of St. Thomas.