National Voter Registration Day (NVRD) is on Sept. 17 this year. The holiday aims to bring attention to the importance of registering to vote for eligible people. Since 2012, this national holiday has been addressing voter registration deadlines which has allegedly helped more than five million Americans register to vote in our country. This year, organizations like Texas Rising and the Center for Civic and Community-Engaged Leadership at UTSA (CCEL) are hosting events to remind the students of UTSA to register to vote.
The CCEL aims to empower and promote civic literacy among students, faculty and staff. This organization has various programs available to UTSA students like its Rowdy Votes program, which has things such as voting resources and details on how to vote on campus.
Within their organizations, CCEL will be hosting different timed events for National Voter Registration Day. Their first event will be a voter registration and information session at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. where they will conduct nonpartisan voter readiness activities.
The Rowdy Votes program will also host various voter registration activities with free food at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. outside the McKinney Humanities building on the Main Campus.
Another organization hosting an event at UTSA for National Voter Registration Day is the Texas Rising chapter at UTSA. Texas Rising is a project of the Texas Freedom Network that focuses on voter registration and turnout, grassroots and digital organizing and issue advocacy by organizing events on college campuses all over Texas.
On Tuesday, Sept. 17, Texas Rising will host an NVRD tabling event where they will be giving free food from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the main campus. For Texas, Rising NVRD is their biggest voter registration day of the year, and they hope to reach a certain goal by the end of their event.
When asked what Texas Rising’s goal is for Tuesday’s NVRD tabling, UTSA Texas Rising Regional Program Coordinator Bella Nieto said, “Our goal is to empower students and young voters. We want to engage students in civic and engaging conversations. Get to know why they want to vote, what motivates them and get them excited. When voters connect with other voters it makes the experience more meaningful and increases the chance of them getting out on Election Day,”
“We also want to support our new Volunteer Deputy Registrars (VDR). VDRs register new voters, and almost anyone can become one, so we want to make sure they feel supported, capable and safe. It’s really rewarding to be a VDR and it’s a great skill, so we want them to grow in confidence with that skill.” Nieto added.
