Voting Is Not Enough: Take Part in National Voter Registration Day on September 22nd via @NatlVoterRegDay @SEIU

As of the publishing of this episode (Sept. 18th), there are exactly 46 days until Election Day. That’s six and a half weeks. Less than 2 months.

To make sure every one of those days count, we’ve launched our 2020 Election Action Guide, which we’re calling “Voting Is Not Enough.” Because…it’s just not.

From now until election day, we’ll be highlighting different ways you can be spending time and/or money to support a free and fair election, as well as Democrats down the ballot and all the way up to the Biden-Harris ticket. All of this information can be accessed from the “Voting is Not Enough” banner at BestoftheLeft.com, or directly at BestoftheLeft.com/2020action.

We’re more than half way through September, which means we are rapidly approaching the voter registration deadlines for many states. Alaska, Rhode Island, and South Carolina all have deadlines of October 4th for in person registration. And 14 other states, including battlegrounds like Ohio, Florida, and Arizona, have in person registration deadlines of October 5th. That’s just a little more than 2 weeks away. Find your state's info on this table of voter registration deadlines by state & type (via Business Insider)

This is voter registration crunch time, which is why Tuesday, September 22nd is National Voter Registration Day. With many DMVs and City Halls closed, and in-person registration drives cancelled, voter registration has been hurt by COVID-19. But like many things this year, the strategy has adapted to our times. National Voter Registration Day is hosting and partnering with online awareness events, providing social media toolkits to share, email templates to send out to people in your network…and, of course, a direct link where people can register to vote online (39 states & DC, but other states may have online request options). Head to NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org for details and resources on how individuals and organizations can take part in this massive effort.

The SEIU, one of the largest worker’s unions in the country, has deemed National Voter Registration Day one of their Worker Mobilization Days as part of their massive 2020 election effort to send Trump packing. They already have a calendar full of events, including virtual state-by-state phone banking and trainings to use the relational voting app VoteJoe. As we mentioned in a previous segment, relational voting - or reaching out to people in your personal networking - has been shown to have a huge impact. To get the VoteJoe app now, text APP to 30330 to download it and watch the training video. Visit mobilize.us/seiu to learn more about the SEIU events and sign up to help, or go to seiu2020.org/.

And finally, it’s important to remember that voting is already underway. In some places COVID-19 has actually helped voters access the ballot, with some states like (gasp!) Alabama offering a new “vote absentee in person” option. Once again, we encourage everyone to visit the “How to Vote in the 2020 Election” Project from FiveThirtyEight to get the latest on the 2020 rule changes in each state. Just a heads up that National Vote Early Day is October 24th and we’ll be updating you with details on that as we get closer.

So, if making sure every eligible young person and worker is registered to vote in the important election of our lifetime is important to you, be sure to spread the word about Taking Part in National Voter Registration Day on September 22nd via social media so that others in your network can spread the word too.

TAKE ACTION

Table of voter registration deadlines by state & type (Business Insider)

Visit NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org for details on the Sept. 22nd day of action / Watch the kick off event

Visit SEIU2020.org to join the union's 2020 election activities

Get the VoteJoe relational voting app: Text APP to 30330

EDUCATE YOURSELF & SHARE

How to Vote in the 2020 Election Project (FiveThirtyEight)

Labor union unveils $150M campaign to help defeat Trump (AP)

Barack Obama Stars in Snapchat PSA Aimed at Younger and First-Time Voters (AdWeek)

Pandemic upends traditional voter registration efforts ahead of November election (CBS)

Voter Registrations Are Way, Way Down During The Pandemic (FiveThirtyEight)

What you need to know about voting absentee in Alabama (Al.com)