By Matt Johnson
As a business owner, I look at my business logically, making necessary changes to operate efficiently and use technology to my advantage to make a profit—that’s just common sense. I believe registering to vote in Nevada should also be logical, efficient, convenient and secure.
The state of Nevada should take a page from its small businesses and keep up with the times, rather than continuing with an outdated “business as usual” practice when it comes to voter registration. That’s why, as a small business owner, I support Automatic Voter Registration, on the November ballot as Question 5. Not only will it make our voter rolls more secure and accurate, it’s also more cost-effective—all things small business owners value.
As the owner of a small company, I do everything: I answer the phones; I cut the paychecks; I even fill in when an employee is sick. Running a business is fulfilling work, but it is also time consuming. That’s why I also appreciate the convenience of automatic registration, which will make it easy for me and my employees to keep our voter registration current. Passing Question 5 will help me keep my attention where it is really needed—on my business.
Automatic Voter Registration will also save millions in taxpayer dollars, reduce waste and remove barriers to voting for eligible citizens. By moving the state to a system that combines layers of review by trained staff and automatic verification, we’ll spend less on shuffling papers and inputting information by hand. States that have implemented similar proposals pay a tiny fraction of the cost per voter registered compared to states that still use an old paper system like Nevada’s, and their voter rolls are more accurate, too.
Finally, small business owners search for solutions that have been tested and found effective. Proposals like Question 5 have been successfully implemented in 14 other states, including Oregon in 2016. Bi-partisan experts agree that Oregon’s system has streamlined the registration process, added multiple layers of verification, enhanced security and registered 250,000 eligible citizens, including 75,000 in rural areas, all while reducing the number of ineligible people added to the voter rolls. Bullseye.
Question 5 clearly provides the type of common-sense solution that business owners embrace. That’s why I plan to support Automatic Voter Registration and vote yes on Question 5.
Matt Johnson is the co-owner of IMBIB Custom Brews in Reno, a small batch brewery dedicated to serving only excellent beers.
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