Pay To Vote?

A Web site that charges people $9.95 for voter registration drew criticism Friday from Attorney General Mike Beebe and Secretary of State Charlie Daniels. "The fact of the matter is, you don`t have to pay to register to vote in this country," Daniels said at a state Capitol news conference. "And you don`t have to pay to vote." Beebe said his office had no evidence "that what is going on is illegal." But he expressed concerns about possible identity theft, since people using the site to register would be providing personal information on the Web, as well as credit card numbers to pay the site`s fees. "You should never be required to give credit-card information when you register to vote," said a statement from Beebe`s office. Daniels said there are legitimate sites on the Web where people can register to vote, or that provide links to voter-registration sites -- but where no fees are charged. Daniels` office provided a statement at the news conference in the state Capitol rotunda that listed nine such sites on the web. It also listed places where Arkansans can go in person to register as voters, such as county clerks` offices, libraries, and local offices of the state Department of Human Services. The secretary of state said the only good thing about the pay-to-register site was that it provided him and Beebe with an opportunity to urge people to register to vote. If Arkansans want to cast votes in the party primaries May 18, Daniels said, they must register by April 18. Daniels said he first heard about the pay-to-register site from an 18-year-old college student who had used the site`s service, and called the secretary of state`s office to make sure his registration information had been received. That was particularly upsetting, Daniels said, because he is most interested in getting young people to register, and they need to realize they don`t have to pay to do that. He said young people, who tend to be more aware of what`s on the Web, are therefore unfortunately more likely to use the pay-to-register site than others.