Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Over 500 locations in one National Voter Registration Day drive

Over 500 locations in one National Voter Registration Day drive

The unofficial holiday helps register thousands of voters each year.

More than 500 registration events will be held across the country Tuesday by the League of Women Voters.

The events will be held as part of National Voter Registration Day. The unofficial holiday, always the fourth Tuesday of September, was created in 2012 by a broad group of civic educators and state and local election officials to boost awareness of registration opportunities and get as many thousands of new people as possible added to the rolls almost simultaneously.

This year, LWV volunteers plan to host in-person registration events at public locations such as transit stops, sporting events and naturalization ceremonies, while also promoting the group's newly redesigned website for election information, Vote411.org.


Visitors of the site can check their voter registration status, begin the process of registering, confirm polling locations and voting hours, review any voter identification requirements, and compare candidates and propositions on the ballot in November.

Volunteers registered 865,000 people last year on Sept. 25, a record for the holiday in its sixth year. There were 153 million registered to vote nationwide by the 2018 midterm, a decline of 4 million from Election Day 2106, the Census Bureau says.

"Voters are just a few months away from casting the first ballots in the 2020 elections, so now is the time to make sure your voter registration is up to date," said Virginia Kase, CEO of the League of Women Voters. "Even if you are registered to vote, spread the word."

Read More

Stolen Land, Stolen Votes: Native Americans Defending the VRA Protects Us All – and We Should Support Them

Wilson Deschine sits at the "be my voice" voter registration stand at the Navajo Nation annual rodeo, in Window Rock.

Getty Images, David Howells

Stolen Land, Stolen Votes: Native Americans Defending the VRA Protects Us All – and We Should Support Them

On July 24, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked a Circuit Court order in a far-reaching case that could affect the voting rights of all Americans. Native American tribes and individuals filed the case as part of their centuries-old fight for rights in their own land.

The underlying subject of the case confronts racial gerrymandering against America’s first inhabitants, where North Dakota’s 2021 redistricting reduced Native Americans’ chances of electing up to three state representatives to just one. The specific issue that the Supreme Court may consider, if it accepts hearing the case, is whether individuals and associations can seek justice under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). That is because the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, contradicting other courts, said that individuals do not have standing to bring Section 2 cases.

Keep ReadingShow less
Person voting

New York City’s election has gotten a lot of attention over the last few weeks, and ranked choice voting is a big part of the reason why.

Hill Street Studios/Getty Images

New York City’s Ranked Choice Voting: Democracy That’s Accountable to Voters

New York City’s election has gotten a lot of attention over the last few weeks, and ranked choice voting is a big part of the reason why.

Heads turned when 33-year-old state legislator Zohran Mamdani knocked off Andrew Cuomo, a former governor from one of the Democratic Party’s most prominent families. The earliest polls for the mayoral primary this winter found Mamdani struggling to reach even 1 percent.

Keep ReadingShow less
Defend Democracy Against Bombardments on the Elections Front –A Three-Part Series
polling station poster on clear glass door

Defend Democracy Against Bombardments on the Elections Front –A Three-Part Series

In Part One, Pat Merloe explored the impact of the political environment, the need for constitutional defense against power-grabbing, and the malign effects of proof of citizenship on voting.

In the second part of the three-part series, Merloe explores the harmful effects of Executive Orders, the reversal of the Justice Department on voting rights, and the effects of political retribution.

Keep ReadingShow less
Defend Democracy Against Bombardments on the Elections Front –A Three-Part Series
Voted printed papers on white surface

Defend Democracy Against Bombardments on the Elections Front –A Three-Part Series

In Part 1, Pat Merloe examines the impact of the political environment, the necessity of constitutional defense against power-grabbing, and the detrimental effects of proof of citizenship on voting.

Part One: Bellicose Environment, Constitutional Infringements, and Disenfranchisement by Proof of Citizenship

The intense MAGA barrage against genuine elections, leading up to 2024’s voting, paused briefly after Election Day - not because there was diminished MAGA hostility towards typically trustworthy processes and results, but mainly because Donald Trump won. Much valuable work took place to protect last year’s polls, and much more will be needed as we head toward 2026, 2028, and beyond.

Keep ReadingShow less