LWV host a National Registration Day drive

In advance of this year's municipal and statewide elections, the League of Women Voters is celebrating National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, Sept. 26.

The League of Women Voters of the Arlington Heights-Mount Prospect-Buffalo Grove Area including Wheeling-Prospect Heights-Elk Grove Village is proud to help host the National Voter Registration Day Drive in partnership with the Mount Prospect Public Library and all eight District 214 High Schools: Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove, Forest View, John Hersey, Prospect, Rolling Meadows, Vanguard and Wheeling. The league will have more than 15 deputy registrars volunteers working that day.

"These local elections have a direct impact on people's day-to-day lives," said Judd Choate, president of the National Association of State Election Directors and member of the National Voter Registration Day Steering Committee. "They affect our parks and transit systems, the schools our kids attend, police and fire protection, as well as local taxes and the public investments they support."

Every year millions of Americans don't claim their right to vote because they miss a deadline, move, change names or don't know how to register in the first place. With over a quarter of Americans not voting at all, National Voter Registration Day is an occasion for community institutions, voters and election leaders to build a more representative democracy.

"Election officials like myself are largely focused on making the polls run smoothly and tabulating the results accurately," Choate added. "We count on community partners, who have trust and established relationships in their respective communities to help ensure that voters are registered and informed about the voting process."

Since 2012, more than 1.4 million people have registered to vote or updated their registration as part of National Voter Registration Day, celebrated annually on the fourth Tuesday in September. National Voter Registration Day is endorsed by the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors.