National Voter Registration Day
Special thanks to Maggie Stern of TEV partner The Children’s Defense Fund of Texas for guest blogging this week!
September 22nd marks the ninth annual National Voter Registration Day and the celebration this year is more important than ever! The first step in casting your ballot is making sure you’re one of the 16.4 million Texans who are registered to vote. In the last presidential election, three million eligible Texas voters were unregistered (the vast majority Latinx and Black) and as recently as the 2020 March primary, 25% of eligible Texans were barred from the ballot box because they hadn’t yet registered. There are tens of thousands of young Texans who have turned 18 since then and will be eligible to vote in November. Normally, many would receive information about registration in their classrooms (as mandated by state law) or at public events. But the months since March have also seen the outbreak of COVID-19 and public health restrictions that shut down schools, businesses, and in-person registration drives. States across the country have reported a slowdown of voter registration – especially the dwindling number of states that, like Texas, do not allow voters to register online.
With the October 5 voter registration deadline looming in Texas, National Voter Registration Day is an opportunity to reach out to unregistered voters and remind them that now is the time to register and make sure their voices are counted in November!
To Do:
- Check out the National Voter Registration Day map to find safe in-person or virtual events in your area on September 22nd. If you’re in Houston, stop by the H-Town Votes 2020 event at Westbury Baptist Church for music, snacks, and voter registration, hosted by CDF-TX, BakerRipley, and the League of Women Voters Houston!
- Confirm you’re registered at your current address. Print a registration form or use org to have your registration form sent to you.
- Share registration materials with students, co-workers, family, and friends to make sure they’re registered too! Need help planning a virtual registration drive? Contact Maggie Stern at mstern@childrensdefense.org for more resources and information.
- Stay connected with CDF-Texas on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more voter education tools that can be shared with students throughout the election season!
Social media posts to share:
“You can’t vote if you’re not registered! Do it today!” #TxEd #TxLege #Vote #TxEdVote
“Celebrate National Voter Registration Day this September 22nd and spread the word!” #TxEd #TxLege #Vote #TxEdVote
Let’s go register some voters!
Laura Yeager
Texas Educators Vote