These states still won't let voters register to vote online for the November general election

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc with the administration of U.S. elections, experts are exhorting states to switch to voting by mail to keep the public and poll workers safe—and to ensure democracy carries on.

For safety’s sake, it’s also critical that every state offers residents the opportunity to register to vote online, or to update their existing registration records. However, as the map at the top of this post shows (see here for a larger version), nine states currently do not allow online registration for the November general election:

• Arkansas
• Maine
• Mississippi
• Montana
• New Hampshire
• Oklahoma (passed by lawmakers but still not fully implemented)
• South Dakota
• Texas
• Wyoming

Collectively, these nine states account for one-seventh of the U.S. population. Americans must have the option to register safely and securely online when in-person opportunities will be limited for the foreseeable future. Each of these states must immediately enact online voter registration. If they do not, Congress has the power to mandate and fund the shift to online voter registration to ensure the November general elections can still proceed amid this historic global crisis.

Changes

North Carolina's state Board of Elections has announced that voters will be able to start registering online if they have an ID issued by the state Division of Motor Vehicles.