Voter Registration Day

LINCOLN – Secretary of State John Gale is joining other members of the National Association of Secretaries of State to promote Tuesday, September 25, as National Voter Registration Day by issuing the following reminders:

• Every state with the exception of North Dakota has a registration requirement for voting.

• To register, you need only be a citizen of the United States and be at least 18 years of age on or before the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

• Updating registration information is important for anyone who has moved, changed their name or had their voting rights restored since the last election.

• Nearly one out of every seven Americans of voting age who are eligible, are still not registered.

Secretary Gale encourages Nebraska citizens to make voter registration a high priority task during the month of September. September 25 is National Voter Registration Day as adopted by the National Association of Secretaries of State, but citizens have until 6:00 P.M. on Friday, October 26, 2018 for in-person registration, or Friday, October 19, 2018, for the postmark deadline for mailed-in registrations as well as for online, Department of Motor Vehicles, and other agencies (including deputy registrars). While Nebraska has an excellent record for voter registrations, there is always a gap of 10 to 15% of citizens who don't get properly registered.

Secretary Gale said, "Our November 6 general election is coming up quickly, and there are many important races on the ballot as well as the Medicaid Expansion initiative petition ballot question. If you want a voice in the election you need to be registered to vote. September 25, as National Voter Registration Day, is a good day to mark your calendars to act. If a citizen has not registered before, is a new resident of Nebraska, or needs to update their registration, there are several convenient ways to do it. They can register in person at their county election office; they can fill out a paper registration form and mail it to their county election office. They can also register online. The Secretary of State online voter registration system, NEReg2Vote, is very accessible and widely used. See: https://www.nebraska.gov/apps-sos-voter-registration/ (a driver's license or state ID required). The Department of Motor Vehicles offices will also register citizens online when they are updating their driver's license."

According to Gale, any citizens who are new residents, or who have moved in-state since last registering to vote, or have changed their name since the last election, need to act. Also, high school students who turn 18 years of age before November 6 can register to vote.

Gale added, "September is the month to act. Waiting until Halloween is too late. I hope Nebraskans will take this step as one of their civic duties."

Citizens can check their status by access to https://www.votercheck.necvr.ne.gov/VoterView/RegistrantSearch.do

"It's easy to let this simple task slip," observed Gale. "That's why the National Association of Secretaries of State feels it is important to put the spotlight on voter registration every September. It's an appropriate time to take care of those updates, especially in years in which there is a statewide election."