National Voter Registration Day is a nonpartisan civic holiday dedicated to celebrating our democracy. It kicked off in 2012 and is endorsed by the National Association of Secretaries of State, the National Association of State Election Directors, the U.S Election Assistance Commission and the National Association of Election Officials.
Over the past dozen years, the people and partners supporting the effort have worked to get more than 5 million Americans registered to vote.
Voting is the most sacred principle of our democratic republic yet only 66 percent of eligible voters turned out in the last presidential election. But this can change.
Many organizations are working hard to educate voters so it is easier for them to vote. Citizen Connect offers citizens a comprehensive 2024 Election Participation Guide, a valuable resource to make it easier for all Americans to have their voice heard at the ballot box. Citizen Connect makes it clear that it does not tell anyone what to think or how to vote; they simply want all eligible voters to vote.
This valuable guide helps voters find out if they are registered and, if not, how to register. Additionally, the Citizen Connect guide offers personalized information on which candidates and issues on users’ local ballots.
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(For those citizens who want to do more than vote and want to apply to be a poll worker, visit Power the Poll.
Citizen Connect is just one of many organizations across America encouraging Americans to vote. The Team works with student athletes across the country to encourage their fellow students to vote. This fall The Team launched the Civic Captain Initiative, an innovative nonpartisan program focused on recruiting, training and empowering student athletes to utilize their platforms to organize their peers to vote. These civic captains will lead volunteer voter registration and participation opportunities for students by leveraging their social media platform to encourage civic engagement and voter participation.
The Team will also host the Virtual All Star Meeting 2024 on Oct 8. This activation is for thousands of athletes, coaches, administrators and supporters with a message focused on nonpartisan civic engagement and how to be an engaged athlete/citizen in your community. In 2022, NBA star Stephen Curry, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and former Stanford University women’s basketball coach Tara VanDerveer spoke with more than 2,000 student-athletes about how to make an impact beyond their sport. That event included 26 teams gathering across 17 states for watch parties (they ate more than 250 free pizzas), while learning from some of the top people in sports and civics.
Both of these programs will improve institutional civic and voting practices within the athletic departments and campuses at large.
As we approach this historic election we ask our readers to do everything they can to encourage their fellow citizens to vote. Abraham Lincon said it well when he proclaimed:
"Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters."
Of course we all want our candidate to win but perhaps more importantly we must remember, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
Don’t be silent this Election Day. Vote.
