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Technology, politics changes how we will vote in 2016

FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2012 file photo, then-California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, shows a online voter registration system as she holds a traditional written form in Sacramento, Calif. Applicants can fill out a form online that will be checked against their driver's license or the state identification card held by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. When President Barack Obama was first elected in 2008, only two states offered an online website where citizens could register to vote. Five states now allow citizens without a state identification or driver’s license to register to vote online: California, Delaware, Minnesota, Missouri, and Virginia. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2012 file photo, then-California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, shows a online voter registration system as she holds a traditional written form in Sacramento, Calif. Applicants can fill out a form online that will be checked against their driver's license or the state identification card held by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. When President Barack Obama was first elected in 2008, only two states offered an online website where citizens could register to vote. Five states now allow citizens without a state identification or driver’s license to register to vote online: California, Delaware, Minnesota, Missouri, and Virginia. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2012 file photo, then-California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, shows a online voter registration system as she holds a traditional written form in Sacramento, Calif. Applicants can fill out a form online that will be checked against their driver's license or the state identification card held by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. When President Barack Obama was first elected in 2008, only two states offered an online website where citizens could register to vote. Five states now allow citizens without a state identification or driver’s license to register to vote online: California, Delaware, Minnesota, Missouri, and Virginia. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

By Associated Press 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – Times have changed since the days of punch card ballots and hanging chads.

Come 2016 when the nation picks its next president, a record number of Americans will have the option of registering online and voting early.

When President Barack Obama was first elected in 2008, only two states offered websites where citizens could register to vote. Now, 20 states offer online registration and seven more are considering it or have passed legislation authorizing it.

There also have been dramatic changes in when Americans vote. In 2000, fewer than 16 percent of Americans had voted in advance, using mail or voting in-person at a designated county site. By 2008, the number of advance votes nationwide jumped to 34 percent. That number is expected to increase even higher in 2016.