• Home
  • Opinion
  • Quizzes
  • Redistricting
  • Sections
  • About Us
  • Voting
  • Events
  • Civic Ed
  • Campaign Finance
  • Directory
  • Election Dissection
  • Fact Check
  • Glossary
  • Independent Voter News
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up
  1. Home>
  2. Voting>
  3. voting>

National Voter Registration Day was one step to reclaiming our democracy

Sayu Bhojwani
September 25, 2019
National Voter Registration Day was one step to reclaiming our democracy

"If we want to recognize the full promise and potential of American democracy, then we must continue working on the principles of National Voter Registration Day," writes Sayu Bhojwani.

File image

Bhojwani is the founder and president of New American Leaders, a nonpartisan organization promoting political participation by first and second generation Americans.

In an era when rampant voter suppression, partisan gerrymandering and electoral corruption threaten our democracy, Tuesday's National Voter Registration Day offered an important call to action.

To protect our democracy from further erosion we will need to take back the White House and remove bad actors from office in 2020. A new math offers a path to those victories and it includes first-generation and second-generation immigrant voters — or "New Americans." They hold the key to swinging this election if they're inspired to vote in large numbers. National Voter Registration Day focused us on ensuring that all Americans who are eligible to vote have the opportunity to do so.

First, it reminded us that we need to level the playing field by bringing voter education and mobilization directly to the doorsteps of these communities. The bureaucracy of the voter registration process can be especially difficult for new Americans to navigate. Every year, millions are unable to vote because they miss registration deadlines, don't update their registration or aren't sure how to register. Real investment is required to educate and mobilize New American voters. In 2018, Georgia had record-breaking turnout because of efforts by groups like New Georgia Project to leave no voter behind. Among Latinos, for example, voter turnout more than doubled.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter


The second benefit of National Voter Registration Day was activating new American organizers and candidates on the state and local levels. They serve as trusted messengers and ambassadors who inspire immigrant and first-time voters to cast ballots. Their efforts are particularly important since both major political parties largely ignore immigrant communities, especially Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. Nearly 40 percent of them do not identify as Democrats or Republicans, and those votes are literally up for grabs. Engaging these ignored voters can pave the path to victory in 2020, but few presidential candidates seem interested in prioritizing it.

Case in point: At the annual Islamic Society of North America convention over Labor Day weekend — the largest gathering of American Muslims — the first-ever presidential forum in this budding community saw participation from just two of the Democrats, Bernie Sanders and Julián Castro. At the only Asian-American and Pacific Islander forum for presidential candidates, the AAPI Progressive Democratic Presidential Forum, low-polling candidates Tulsi Gabbard, Andrew Yang and Tom Steyer were the only participants.

How can campaigns connect with first-time or low-propensity voters? One way is to engage with diverse elected officials and candidates who share the lived experience of potential voters. A second and critical strategy is to continue hiring local and diverse staff members from new American communities and communities of color. Mobilizing new American voters in these ways can change the equation of elections.

National Voter Registration Day has been observed since 2012, but the problem it addresses is decades old, and it's a problem that should never exist in the first place. Low rates of registration and turnout should be a non-issue in one of the world's largest democracies. In Australia, where voting is mandatory, voter turnout is at 96%, compared to 56% in the United States (in 2016).

On paper, voting in the United States is a right, not a privilege. In practice, who can and does vote varies by race and geographic location, among other factors. Currently voting is reserved for those with control over their work schedules and easy access to polling locations.

Presidential candidates must see National Voter Registration Day for what it is: just one tool to build an inclusive democracy. Any candidate who wants to win the White House and win the trust of the emerging New American majority must make democracy reform a top-tier priority, not just a talking point. Long-term solutions would include making Election Day a paid holiday; creating abundant polling locations including options like the vote centers in Larimer County, Colo.; and overturning regressive voter ID laws such as Georgia's exact match law, which disproportionately affected African-Americans and other voters of color last year.

If we want to recognize the full promise and potential of American democracy, then we must continue working on the principles of National Voter Registration Day. It is just one milestone on our journey toward reshaping our democracy to work for "we the people."

From Your Site Articles
  • Lin-Manuel Miranda, NRA, Tom Hanks say, 'Register to vote' - The ... ›
  • Over 500 locations in one National Voter Registration Day drive ... ›
  • Let’s help millions escape from voter registration limbo - The Fulcrum ›
Related Articles Around the Web
  • Register to Vote | National Voter Registration Day ›
  • National Voter Registration Day - Home | Facebook ›
  • National Voter Registration Day ›
voting

Want to write
for The Fulcrum?

If you have something to say about ways to protect or repair our American democracy, we want to hear from you.

Submit
Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
Confirm that you are not a bot.
×
Follow
Contributors

Hypocrisy of pro-lifers being anti-LGBTQIA

Steve Corbin

A dangerous loss of trust

William Natbony

Shifting the narrative on homelessness in America

David L. Nevins

Reform in 2023: Leadership worth celebrating

Layla Zaidane

Two technology balancing acts

Dave Anderson

Reform in 2023: It’s time for the civil rights community to embrace independent voters

Jeremy Gruber
latest News

Three practical presidential pledges to promote national prosperity

James-Christian B. Blockwood
31 May

Meet the Faces of Democracy: Justin Roebuck

Mia Minkin
31 May

Podcast: Why Is Congressional Oversight Important, and How Can It Be Done Well? (with Elise Bean)

Kevin R. Kosar
Elise J. Bean
30 May

Chipping away at election integrity: Virginia joins red state exodus from ERIC

David J. Toscano
30 May

Your Take on congressional incivility

Lennon Wesley III
26 May

White House plan to combat antisemitism needs to take on centuries of hatred, discrimination and even lynching in America

Pamela Nadell
26 May
Videos

Video: Honoring Memorial Day

Our Staff

Video: #ListenFirst Friday YOUnify & CPL

Our Staff

Video: What is the toll of racial violence on Black lives?

Our Staff

Video: What's next for migrants seeking asylum after Title 42

Our Staff

Video: An inside look at the campaign to repeal Pennsylvania’s closed primaries

Our Staff

Video: Where the immigration debate stands today

Our Staff
Podcasts

Podcast: AI revolution: Disaster or great leap forward?

Our Staff
25 May

Podcast: Can we fix America's financial crises?

Our Staff
23 May

Podcast: Gen Z's fight for democracy

Our Staff
22 May

Podcast: Political Football, Inc.

Our Staff
19 May
Recommended
Three practical presidential pledges to promote national prosperity

Three practical presidential pledges to promote national prosperity

Big Picture
Meet the Faces of Democracy: Justin Roebuck

Meet the Faces of Democracy: Justin Roebuck

State
Podcast: Why Is Congressional Oversight Important, and How Can It Be Done Well? (with Elise Bean)

Podcast: Why Is Congressional Oversight Important, and How Can It Be Done Well? (with Elise Bean)

Test Unlisted
Hypocrisy of pro-lifers being anti-LGBTQIA

Hypocrisy of pro-lifers being anti-LGBTQIA

Diversity Inclusion and Belonging
Chipping away at election integrity: 
Virginia joins red state exodus from ERIC

Chipping away at election integrity: Virginia joins red state exodus from ERIC

Big Picture
Video: Honoring Memorial Day

Video: Honoring Memorial Day