A new study by the Pew Center on the States reveals Oregon residents spent $9.7 million on voter registration, or $4.51 per active registered voter during the 2008 election.

”The Real Cost of Voter Registration” worked with Oregon state officials and local election officials and found out of the $9.7 million, it cost $8.43 per registration transaction for voters in Oregon.

Canada’s registration system, on the other hand, costs its registered voters only $5 million annually, or approximately 26 cents per registered voter. The study suggests the sharp contrast could be due partly to Canada’s use of a list showing all eligible voters created by government data sources.

Other states in America have taken steps towards cutting costs in voter registration. Delaware requires each visitor to the Division of Motor Vehicles to register to vote, saving the state around $200,000. Phoenix, Ariz. promotes online registration, costing only 3 cents to process, as opposed to the 83 cents it costs to process a paper registration form.

The first of its kind, the Pew Center’s study provides a model for other states to estimate their voter registration expenses and help modernize their processes.

“States need to analyze their current voter registration costs before they can determine effective ways to modernize the process,” said John Lindback, senior officer for Election Initiatives at the Pew Center on the States and former Oregon state election director. “Oregon’s critical contribution to this study provides guidance for analyzing expenses and shows the need for a more cost-effective system.  A good starting point is to use 21st –century technology that will not only make registration less expensive, but also more efficient and accurate.”

By the numbers:

• Oregon’s voter registration system cost state and local governments more than $9.7 million

• The cost per active registered voter (individuals who have either voted or updated their registration during the past five years) was $4.51

• New registrations combined with updates resulted in 1,152,761 transactions and the cost per transaction was $8.43

• The cost per active voter in the seven largest counties ($2.78) was less than that in the remaining 29 counties ($4.28), indicating economies of scale