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National Voter Registration Day: Know the Rules, Know Your Rights



 
With less than two months to go until Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 6), making sure that all eligible Americans are registered to vote is of utmost importance. Next Tuesday, September 25, a national day of action will bring together volunteers, celebrities, and organizations from across the country to "hit the streets" for National Voter Registration Day. This coordinated effort will help to raise awareness of pending voter registration deadlines and opportunities. 

An important reason for National Voter Registration Day is to counter voter suppression efforts in states like Florida, Ohio, and Maine. I listened in on a media conference call with Myrna Perez, Senior Counsel for the Democracy Program of the Brennan Center for Justice. The Center is supporting action to educate the public about the impact of new restrictive voter laws on registration efforts, and stressing the importance of registering to vote. 

“Our goal is for communities across the country to become fully educated about rights and opportunities. Voting is important: it gives us a voice on how our country runs, and allows us to influence policy decisions that affect our daily lives. All Americans are equal on Election Day,” says Perez.

The nonpartisan “Election Protection” coalition provides useful information for local groups to identify barriers and issues to voter registration. To report a problem or for general elections/voting questions, call:1-866-OUR-VOTE or email info@866ourvote.org. Spanish-speakers may call 888-VE -Y-VOTA to get more information.

Young people are among the most under-represented group of eligible voters in any general election. In the Latino community, the disparities are large. Half of all eligible Latino voters are under 40 and 33% are between 18 and 34. There are about 9 million American Latino youth in the U.S., but only a small fraction vote. The national group Voto Latino is working to get the attention of Latino youth is by “meeting young voters where they are.”

“We want to speak to them, and not at them,” says Dan McSwain, who works for Voto Latino, a nonpartisan voter registration organization which has enlisted celebrity power to raise awareness about the importance of voter registration.  

According to McSwain, as many as 6 million people in 2008 said they did not vote because they did not know or forgot about the registration deadline in their state.

Check out Voto Latino’s very cool FaceBook app. Pledge to register to vote, and get a special code to download on iTunes a 35-song sampler from Latin artists like Pitbull, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Domino Saints, Los Tigres Del Norte, and more.  

Close to Home

If you live in Oregon, the voter registration deadline is Tuesday, Oct. 16. It’s easy to register to vote online, via oregonvotes.gov. If you have moved residences since the last election, it’s important to check and update your registration information. The post office will not forward ballots to new addresses, so make sure that Oregon Votes has your latest address on file.

In Washington, the voter registration deadline is Monday, October 8. To register online, visit www.sos.wa.gov/elections. If you know an eligible voter who do not have access to a computer but needs a Washington voter registration form in a language other than English, you may click on the links below to print out the form:

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