DMV voter registration plan draws concern

ALBANY -- A state plan to allow motorists to register to vote electronically at the DMV and eventually online has triggered sharp push-back from local elections officials who fear it will make it harder to detect voter fraud.

But Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's administration says those fears, focused largely on use of digital signatures, are based on a flawed understanding of the process.

State and good-government groups contend the changes streamline the registration process and have been proved elsewhere as cheaper, more user-friendly and accurate.

Despite the claims, elections officials in Albany County, which is to be a pilot site for the program expected to fully roll out next year, say they won't accept the electronic registrations even as the Cuomo administration argues that state law gives them no choice.

The DMV plan, slated to be rolled out first in Albany and Orange counties, would use electronic VeriFone payment terminals similar to those in supermarkets and pharmacies to capture registration information electronically.