Celebrate National Voter Registration Day

White House facade with columns, flag atop, and manicured lawn in foreground.

September 17, 2024 is National Voter Registration Day. Join Goodwill and a coalition of thousands of partners across the country that will celebrate National Voter Registration Day and launch efforts to get every eligible American registered to vote in advance of election 2024! Every eligible citizen should have the option to exercise their right to be heard at the ballot box, and with well over 5 million registered voters to its name since 2012, National Voter Registration Day is the perfect day to start getting America #VoteReady for Election 2024.

Every year, millions of Americans find themselves unable to vote because they miss a registration deadline, don’t update their registration, or aren’t sure how to register. Voters need to register or update their registration for reasons such as moving to a new address, turning 18, becoming a citizen, or changing their names. In the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as many as one in four Americans reported not being registered to vote or unsure if they were registered, with over 600,000 non-voters specifically citing a registration problem as their reason for not casting a ballot.

A 2020 study by the Knight Foundation found more than one in four unregistered voters (27%) reported not being registered because they didn’t know how, kept forgetting, did not have time, were too busy, or had recently moved. Among unregistered voters ages 18-24, this percentage was even higher at 42%.

Registering to vote in 2024 is about more than just the presidential election. This year, we will see elections for 34 US Senate seats, 435 House of Representatives seats, state legislative races across 44 states, and 11 governors races, alongside scores of municipal races and ballot initiatives

Visit our Election Center for more information on where and how to vote in addition to your candidates. National Voter Registration Day is an annual nonpartisan event held each September. It is composed of over 4,000 national and Community Partners from across the country working to raise awareness of voter registration resources and opportunities. As the nation’s largest nonpartisan civic holiday, it has facilitated over 5 million voter registrations since 2012. National Voter Registration Day is endorsed by the National Association of Secretaries of State, the National Association of State Election Directors, the US Election Assistance Commission, and the National Association of Election Officials.

The civic holiday’s website, NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org, lists National Voter Registration Day events across the country and includes comprehensive and state-specific resources on voter registration and voting more generally.

 

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