National Voter Registration Day is Sept. 22. Since 2012, the fourth Tuesday of September has been celebrated as a holiday to alert voters to get ready for the upcoming November election. From its first year when 300,000 new voters were registered, National Voter Registration Day has quickly gained momentum. In communities all across the nation, hundreds of public service organizations have participated in making their own communities more aware that an opportunity to vote is just around the corner. Nearly three million voters have registered on the holiday to date.
Montgomery County should rightfully take pride in the fact that over 80% of our eligible voters are registered. However, that leaves nearly 20% of voters who are not. Nationwide, despite readily available information, millions of Americans find themselves unable to vote in each election cycle because they miss a registration deadline, don’t update their voter registration (because of moving or change of name), or aren’t sure how to register, or where to vote, or how to vote early in-person or absentee.
The League of Women Voters of Montgomery County is working especially hard during this year of the pandemic to create broad awareness of voter registration opportunities, and to make sure our voters know when and where early voting is possible as well as where polls are located on Election Day, Nov. 3. Because of COVID-19, places for early voting have changed to accommodate social distancing.
Also many voters wish to stay away from the polls for health reasons and therefore need to vote absentee. As the postcard we all got from the United States Postal Service last week says, “Start today” if you wish to vote by mail. They provide a handy checklist and a website to check information for each state’s voting procedures, assuring us that they are “committed to providing you a secure, effective way to deliver your ballot.” The website is: usps.com/votinginfo.
The League of Women Voters of Montgomery County has already sent “Time to Vote!” packets to all our Montgomery County high schools’ US government teachers, assuring that all our new 18-year-old voters get registered for the Nov. 3 election.
League members are also giving people the convenient chance to register to vote, to acquire requests for absentee ballots, and to get a flyer with all MoCo voting information on it starting this weekend. Look for tables when you go grocery shopping this weekend or when you attend a downtown festival at Pike Place.
On National Voter Registration Day itself (Sept. 22), League of Women Voters of Montgomery County will have tables set up in each of our county’s towns as well as at Kroger and Walmart, and in downtown Crawfordsville between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. for citizens’ convenience and to provide information.
Plan how you will vote and if you need information, we’ll see you on National Voter Registration Day.
The nonpartisan League of Women Voters, open to men as well as women, encourages informed and active participation in g overnment. For information about the League, visit the website: www.lwvmontcoin.org or send a message to: LWV, P.O. Box 101, Crawfordsville, IN 47933.
