A new online voter registration tool — GoVoteTN.org — is now available in Tennessee. Area residents are encouraged to register online, or check their registration status, on or around Tuesday, September 26th, which has been deemed National Voter Registration Day.
A nonpartisan, unofficial national holiday, National Voter Registration Day was launched in 2012 to create a yearly moment when the nation joins together to focus on our most fundamental right as citizens: the right to vote. Note that September 26th is not a deadline per se. It is a day of unity on which citizens are reminded to exercise their voting rights.
This is especially important in this area. A 2016 PEW study revealed that Tennessee is 40th nationally in voter registration rate — and that our state has the lowest voter turnout in the U.S. Online voter registration is one practical way to boost these rankings, and quickly.
Registering to vote has never been faster or more accessible in Tennessee thanks to the state’s new Online Voter Registration System. Launched in Tennessee on September 6, 2017, online voter registration is now live on the Secretary of State’s user-friendly website at GoVoteTN.org.
Voters can also register, or check their voting status, by using their smartphones. Simply text "Register" to 25827.
“Online voter registration can make a real difference," says state Senator Lee Harris, a founder of the Tennessee Voter Project PAC, which is dedicated to growing voter registration in this state. "We have more to do, but now it’s up to members of both parties to promote this new tool, engage citizens on the issues that matter, and give people real choices in 2018.”
In order to register, Tennesseans need a current, valid Tennessee driver's license or state ID. Only U.S. citizens who are residents of Tennessee and will be 18 years of age or older on or before the next election are eligible to vote. If a resident has been convicted of a felony, his or her voting rights can be restored.
Social-media users can follow National Voter Registration Day activities via using #NationalVoterRegistrationDay and the voter-registration push in Tennessee using #GoVoteTN.
About the Tennessee Voter Project: A Political Action Group formed by State Senator Lee Harris, the Tennessee Voter Project is dedicated to growing Tennessee voter registration and building organizational groundwork.
Anna Traverse is the communications specialist for New Memphis.
