State Moving Forward With Online Voter Registration

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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - Work remains on pace to allow online voter registration in Florida by next October.

"We did have a little bit of a hiatus with our meetings. Obviously, we were trying to get through the election, but we have resumed and will continue full steam ahead," Maria Matthews, director of the state Division of Elections, told members of the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee on Tuesday.

Secretary of State Ken Detzner said the state's election database and voting systems remained secured throughout 2016.

"Since 2015 more than half of Florida's 67 counties, 48 in all, have modernized their voting systems," Detzner said.

The online voter-registration system was mandated by lawmakers in 2015. The system must function between the county elections supervisors and a Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles database.

Matthews said tests will begin by April on the system.

When Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill into law, he raised concerns about cybersecurity. Lawmakers included $1.8 million to pay for setting up the system.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.