Last week was National Voter Registration Week which officially ended on October 3rd. Although the event is over, the SMHS staff have decided to keep it going because voting never ends!

According to the National Voter Registration Day website, the National Voter Registration Day was first observed in 2012. The nonpartisan* organization aims to “create broad awareness of voter registration opportunities” to those who are not registered to vote yet.

Citing the U.S. Census data from 2020, the U.S. Census states that as many as one in four eligible Americans are not registered to vote. This is a major issue because there have been several efforts to suppress* the right to vote in many states across the country.

So, how can you get involved? Well there are several opportunities to get involved whether you are able to vote or not yet. The following are several ways to help and get involved in the democratic process:

Register to Vote: If you are 16 or older and a US citizen, congratulations! You may be eligible to pre-register to vote. To do this, visit www.vote.gov and select the state you reside in. If you would like to go directly to the California website, please visit www.sos.ca.gov. All you will need is your Social Security Number and you are set to pre-register. Pre-registering means that once you turn 18 years old, you will be automatically registered to vote.

Registering to vote is easy! If you need help, Ms. Washington from the College and Careers and adviser for the Black Student Union will be hosting another voter registration day tomorrow during lunch at the practice field. Ms. Washington has set a goal of registering at least 25 students to vote per event in this school year. This afternoon, she managed to register 20 students to vote. Although this may seem like a small amount, Ms. Washington says that, “it could be a small thing but small things lead to big changes.” Saints, if you need help registering to vote or have any questions about the process, please visit Ms. Washington tomorrow during lunch at the practice field.

Help Your Community Register to Vote: If you are not 16 yet, you can help by working with your community. According to the U.S. Census, 1 in 4 eligible Americans are not registered to vote. There is a very high chance someone in your community is not registered to vote even though they are eligible. Ask your friends, family members, neighbors, or classmates whether they are eligible to vote and if so, are they registered to vote.

Educate Yourself and Others: Before helping anyone, it is important that you educate yourself about the voting process! There are tons of resources that aim to help young leaders learn about the process of voting and the requirements depending on your state. Websites such as vote.org, vote.gov, nationalvoterregistrationday.org, and whenweallvote.org are all nonpartisan* and trustworthy websites.

Remember that knowledge is power. 

Election Protection Hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE

*Nonpartisan: free from party affiliation or bias

*Suppress: to keep secret from public knowledge