Record Number Of New Online Voter Registrations In Pennsylvania Ahead Of Presidential Election

As the deadline to register to vote in Pennsylvania hit Tuesday, record numbers of citizens took to Pennsylvania’s online portal, authorities have confirmed.

Pennsylvania has implemented various new elements to its voting services this year, including 2Vote, a text messaging service. Registered users receive links via text message that provided access to the registration application, help locating polling places, and more. In addition, the state's online voting registration (OVR) system is in its second year.

Have the new technologies been successful?

"Absolutely," said Pennsylvania State Department spokeswoman Wanda Murren.

Tuesday marked the highest amount of users ever recorded on OVR: more than 87,000, Murren said. Although that number includes both people registering for the first time and people updating existing information, it's still significant.

At 9 p.m. on Tuesday, as the registration deadline approached, roughly 3,300 new users registered per hour. That was up from an average of about 3,200 on Monday.

“Voting is one of our most fundamental rights,” Secretary of State Pedro A. Cortés said in a statement. “That’s why Governor Wolf and the Department of State have made it a priority to implement innovations that make registration more convenient, secure and accessible.”

Murren added that in the past three weeks leading up to the deadline, there have been more than 300,000 new voter applications online. That's not counting thousands of paper applications that have not yet been processed. The state will have a certified final total of all registered voters by the end of the month.

2Vote, meanwhile, "has led people to OVR as it was intended to do," Murren said.

The state also experienced a more significant surge in registration during the primary season because unlike most years, the Democratic and Republican races had not yet been resolved by the primary in April.

To register for 2Vote, text “PA” to “2Vote” (28683).

Absentee voters, meanwhile, are strongly encouraged to submit their absentee ballot request no later than Oct. 21, two weeks before the voted ballot must be received by the county office.

According to RealClearPolitics, an average of various polls taken between Sept. 28 and Oct. 9 shows that Hillary Clinton has a 5.8 point advantage nationwide over Donald Trump. In Pennsylvania, Clinton's lead during that same time period is 8.6 points.

Patch file photo