National Voter Registration Day Set To Be Biggest Yet

By Megan Weyrauch on September 23, 2014

Image via http://nationalvoterregistrationday.org

“Have you registered to vote?”

I remember one morning I was walking across OSU’s campus, late to class as usual, when a bold girl with a clipboard pursued me, asking me incessantly if I had registered to vote.

Now, this would not have been something out of the ordinary had she not done what she did next. Though I told her I was late to class and I did not have the time to register at that exact moment, she kept following me. And when I broke out in a light jog to avoid her, she did too, and she chased me–all the way to class.

Though at the time I thought this girl was insane (can you blame me?), sometimes this is what it takes to get people to register to vote. Though we are very privileged to participate in elections, the practice often gets pushed aside because we are “too busy” to register in the first place.

But think about how great it is that we are encouraged to have opinions and share these by participating in elections, something a lot of people do not have the chance to do.

Today, Sept. 23, is National Voter Registration Day. Held on the fourth Tuesday of September every year, National Voter Registration Day is the largest single-day effort of the year to register voters and involve them in the American political process.

Over 2,000 groups in all 50 states are joining forces to celebrate National Voter Registration Day, according to this press release. More than 350,000 voters have registered on National Voter Registration Day through field and online efforts by thousands of partners and supporters.

Businesses, non-profits, volunteer organizations and celebrity supporters will join forces on this coordinated day of national civic action. Organizers around the country will host events, publish and promote online materials and organize volunteers for Sept. 23.

This year, Americans will vote in national and statewide elections where ballots will include contests for 471 congressional seats, 36 governorships, the makeup of 46 state legislatures and thousands of local elections. Communities, cities, school systems, local parks and more will be impacted.

According to the press release, the following is going to happen on this National Voter Registration Day:

-Celebrities will register voters and generate buzz at surprise locations.

-Volunteers will register eligible voters across the country with marquee events taking place in major cities like Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles and more.

-The day’s official hashtag—#CelebrateNVRD—will trend all day.

-A network of grassroots and local organizations will engage potential voters in their local communities.

-Hundreds of thousands of voters will register to vote online and in their communities.

The recently re-launched website will make it easier than ever to get involved by registering to vote and volunteering at hundreds of events. With resources for partners to plan and promote their voter registration events with field planning and communications toolkits, posters, social media graphics and more, this new site will prove extremely helpful in the voter registration process.

Partners include National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), Voto Latino, Rock the Vote, Tumblr, League of Women Voters, YWCA, APALA, HeadCount and others.

Visit the National Voter Registration Day website for more information. Follow the conversation via social media using the hashtag #CelebrateNVRD and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Prepare to exercise your most basic civil right and register to vote today (I promise I won’t chase you to class, but you should seriously go register now).

Image via https://www.google.com

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