[Images via masonvotes]

Happy National Voter Registration Day 2020! Here’s the release:

Today, Tuesday September 22, marks the 9th annual National Voter Registration Day – a nonpartisan and collaborative effort that involves partners of all stripes and sizes across the country to register voters ahead of the November election. This year, over 100 premier partners and 4,500 community groups have partnered with National Voter Registration Day to combat the impact of COVID-19 on voter registration by organizing both virtual and safe, in-person voter registration drives in communities nationwide.

Celebrated each year on the fourth Tuesday of September, National Voter Registration Day is a nonpartisan civic holiday that celebrates our democracy and involves the collective efforts of thousands of volunteers, nonprofit organizations, businesses, schools, libraries and election officials from all over the country. One in four eligible Americans is not registered to vote, and National Voter Registration Day seeks to make voter registration calls to action impossible to ignore, so that as many citizens as possible are empowered to participate in our democracy.

This year, due to COVID-19, voter registration is more important than ever. Because of the closure of DMVs and halting of voter registration field programs amid the pandemic, the number of new and updated voter registrations collected across the country has fallen dramatically since March. In order to combat this, National Voter Registration Day is bringing together partners and community groups to host both digital voter registration drives and safe, in-person registration events. Partners are also working to provide accurate information to voters on how to prepare to cast a ballot, either through mail-in voting, early in-person voting, or going to the polls on Election Day.

“Civic participation is the cornerstone of a healthy democracy,” said Dr. Deborah Turner, president of the League of Women Voters, one of the founding organizations of National Voter Registration Day and which has almost 600 local Leagues signed on as 2020 partners. “We are excited and encouraged by the record-setting number of coalition partners assembled under the banner of National Voter Registration Day this year. This degree of participation underlines the fact that Americans are determined to keep our democracy strong despite the challenges presented by the pandemic.”

Since its establishment in 2012, nearly three million voters of all political ideologies and affiliations have registered on National Voter Registration Day. Demonstrating the holiday’s quickly-growing momentum, almost half of those three million registrations took place in 2018 (865,000) or 2019 (474,000). This year, National Voter Registration Day and partners are seeking to overcome the setbacks of COVID-19 by continuing this trend of mass registration through creative and unique initiatives. Among many others, partners in 2020 include: American Library Association, Target, United Way, Feeding America, Levi Strauss & Co., Uber, Airbnb, the Military Officers Association of America, the NAACP, and the Students Learn Student Vote Coalition, as well as thousands of grassroots community groups such as libraries, college groups, co-ops, nonprofits, election offices, businesses and more.

“National Voter Registration Day is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate each citizen’s role in shaping our country and its future,” said Lauren Kunis, Program Director of National Voter Registration Day. “If we want to see more Americans participate in our democracy, it is crucial that the next few weeks bring record-setting levels of voter registration that will enable as many citizens as possible to have their voices heard this November.”

In advance of this year’s National Voter Registration Day, both chambers of Congress have put forth bi-partisan resolutions to recognize September 22, 2020 as National Voter Registration Day. The resolutions received support from both sides of the aisle, with Sen. Roy Blunt (MO) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN) backing the Senate resolution and Rep. Kathy Castor (FL) and Rep. Billy Long (MO) backing the resolution in the House of Representatives. The resolutions encourage all eligible citizens to register to vote, verify that their registration information is current, and to cast a ballot on or before Election Day…

About National Voter Registration Day
National Voter Registration Day is a single day of coordinated events by thousands of national and community partners across the nation to raise awareness of registration opportunities. Held on the fourth Tuesday of every September, it is endorsed by the National Association of Secretaries of State, National Association of State Election Directors, National Association of Election Officials, and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

As the release suggests, NVRD is an even bigger deal this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic;  therefore, today is a great day to register if you haven’t already – and to check your registration details if you have. [It’s also a great day to investigate your options for requesting a mail ballot or finding ways to cast a ballot before Election Day.] With just 42 days until Election Day 2020, it’s a timely opportunity to make sure you’re election ready! Stay tuned …

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