It’s been a little over four years since the Supreme Court case Shelby County v. Holder gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which for decades has upheld voting rights in the name of protecting Americans from racial discrimination. One of the primary results of this ruling was that states had far more power to enact voting restrictions without any federal oversight or any thought to their past history of voter suppression. As the passage of voter ID laws, restricted polling hours, and the number of closures of state DMVs that issued voter IDs have all been on the rise, it is extremely important that we come together and work so that friends, fellow students, and neighbors can get registered to vote.
Focusing on voting as essential to our democracy, National Voter Registration Day was first observed in 2012 and has only gotten more popular over the years. On Tuesday, September 26th, volunteers and organizations all over the country will be hosting events or going out as individuals to register people to vote. Last year over 750,000 new voters were registered as a result of National Voter Registration Day, and SPLC on Campus has again signed on as an official partner for this year’s event.
Go to their website to look for a National Voter Registration Day event near you, and don’t forget to register here for our upcoming webinar, “The How-To’s of Voter Registration,” which will be held on Wednesday, September 20th!