The Problem
Last year, millions of Americans didn’t vote because they missed a registration deadline or didn’t know how to register.
- Many Americans are not aware that they must register to vote before they can cast a ballot, in some cases 30 days in advance of the election.
- If you turned 18 recently, changed your name, moved, or haven’t voted in recent elections, then you need to update your voter registration.
- One out of nine of Americans have moved in the last year, rendering their former registration outdated.
Updating your voter registration is the surest way to ensure a trouble-free experience at the polls.
The Solution
As the Earth Day of democracy, #NationalVoterRegistrationDay – the largest one-day effort of the year to register voters – wants to make sure no one misses the opportunity to vote due to a registration problem.
- It’s celebrated on the fourth Tuesday of every September – September 26 in 2017 – by thousands of volunteers, organizations, businesses, schools, and election officials from all over the country.
- With 2,000 community and online partners, and over 10,000 volunteers working in a massive, single-day event, National Voter Registration Day seeks to reach voters who haven’t yet registered or updated their registration in the final weeks before the deadlines.
- Over 1.4 million voters have registered or updated their registration as a result of National Voter Registration Day events since 2012.
Why 2017
Local elections for county commissions, school boards, mayors, judges, bond issues, and more are being held in all 50 states across the nation this November, elections that have major impacts on people’s day-to-day lives.
- While national elections get the media attention, local elections in many ways have a more direct impact on people’s lives, including the quality of roads and transit systems, the schools our kids attend, parks and greenways, public safety, and more.
- Democracy is built from the ground up and key decisions that affect our communities, our kids, taxes and the investments they support are determined locally, so #BeVocalVoteLocal