Washington state will let you register to vote on Facebook

Soon it will be your civic duty to go through those Outstanding App Requests piling up on your Facebook profile, Washington state residents. One of them is going to register you to vote.
Washington state announced Tuesday that it will become the first state in the union to allow voter registration on Facebook. Users will be able to utilize the app to register to vote, and then "Like" the app and recommend it to their in-state Facebook friends.
The Washington secretary of state's office tells the Associated Press that Facebook voter registration will be available to Washington residents as early as next week. The Washington State Elections Facebook page is already up and running.
"In this age of social media and more people going online for services, this is a natural way to introduce people to online registration and leverage the power of friends on Facebook to get more people registered," Washington co-director of elections Shane Hamlin told the Associated Press.
The app was actually designed by the Washington-based Microsoft corporation. Man, is Microsoft busting their rear ends to become cool again.
Realize that Washington residents will not actually be able to vote via Facebook, they will simply be able to register to vote. Facebook-registered voters must still actually physically show up to a voting booth on Election Day, or request and submit an absentee ballot.
Washington is one of 12 states that already allows online voter registration. The state estimates that 475,000 residents have used the system to register since it was made available in 2008.
The app will work similarly to any of the third party apps on Facebook, like Words With Friends or Instagram. You click on the app, then agree to let Facebook access your information -- though it is actually the office of the Washington Secretry of State accessing your information. An online registration form will appear with your name and date of birth already filled in.
So if your Facebook profile name is "Harry Buttocks", the system may not work for you.
Users must then manually enter their driver's license number or information from a State ID card. The state estimates that this system will save the state 25 cents per registration, while saving individual counties as much as $2 per registration.
Mr. Hamlin said in an email to Ars Technica that while the app may be available next week, "it could be released later". Washington residents, look for the voter registration app on your Facebook page -- right above the advertisement to "Meet Local Single Women".