By Walter Ryce

National Voter Registration Day, Tuesday, Sept. 19, is a nonpartisan civic day founded in 2012 to enlist volunteers and organizations to register voters. To date, more than 5 million have registered. 

According to the organization’s website, the “efforts are designed to ensure every eligible voter has the opportunity to vote.”  

CSU Monterey Bay is joining the effort by tabling in the Main Quad Plaza of the Otter Student Union from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday to share information and register voters. 

Nicole Hollingsworth, CSUMB’s director of governmental and external relations, helped promote voting in last year’s midterm election, telling students: “Your vote matters!”

“I personally like to think of voting as a way to support my community and to exemplify that I care about my country and other people,” Hollingsworth said. 

She draws on trusted local resources such as the Monterey County Elections Office, which is partnering on messages for Sept. 19. Its registrar of voters is Gina Martinez.

“Our democratic process is so much stronger when we all participate,” Martinez said. “Participation ensures that those who are elected and any measures are truly representative of the will of our voters.”

She addressed questions about voting integrity, saying that voters can watch the process of counting ballots, and observe the logic and accuracy tests of voting systems before and after elections.

“We work every day to raise awareness about security measures, audits, checks and balances, and the myriad of processes in place to ensure the integrity of elections,” she said. 

“Bottom line, your vote is your voice, and it matters.”

She shared links to more resources:

Register to vote: U.S. citizens can register or check voter status. 

Political Party Statements of Purpose: Statements each party provides summarizing what it stands for. You can register with a party or register without one. 

Track your mail ballot: You can sign up to receive notifications regarding where your ballot is and if your ballot has been counted or not. 

Your local Election Official’s website: Wherever you are registered in the state, you can bookmark your local election official’s website.  

Your state Election Official’s website: Visit this website for all things election related, including state proposition information, and state and federal candidate information.