North Carolina students celebrate Voter Registration Day ahead of 2020 Election Day
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- On Sept. 22, Americans celebrated National Voter Registration Day with a massive cross-country effort to register voters well in advance of Election Day this November.
Young people in particular make up the largest and most diverse block of potential voters in this election. Tuesday, students with the North Carolina Public Interest Research group spent the day engaging college campus communities across the state.
Register to vote now, or risk not being eligible for the 2020 election
"We are working on this national holiday to make sure that all of our students are prepared to vote in the upcoming election. College students have a lot on their plate right now between remote classes and the pandemic and general stress from that. So we're trying to use this day as a big visibility push and a big reminder for college students that they are the largest population with so much power and we want them to use their voice on Election Day," said Janie Hollman of NCPIRG.
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This year's efforts looked a little differently as COVID-19 closed campuses across the state, canceling in person registration events. NCPRIG went virtual, holding their campaign pushes online as they rolled out their social media strategy.
"Definitely been some challenges specifically at UNC, students moving on and moving off campus...so we are reaching out to everyone to make sure students addresses are staying up to date," Hollman said.
Regardless of strategy, students ABC11 spoke with said it's their duty not just to vote but to push their peers to the polls.
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"We don't want other people to make our choices on our elected officials for us. We want to empower students to make their voices heard and also to make civic engagement a lifelong habit," said Jenn Hibbits of NCPRIG.
Voter registration typically takes less than two minutes to complete.
There are three ways to register, online, by mail or at the DMV.
