In honor of National Voter Registration Day, the White House convened a roundtable with youth voting leaders to discuss the challenges young Americans face in the voting process. The Biden-Harris Administration emphasized its ongoing efforts to expand voting access, including the launch of a revamped vote.gov website and new voter registration tools. These initiatives aim to empower young voters and ensure that all eligible citizens can participate in secure and accessible elections.
Readout of White House Roundtable with Youth Voting Leaders
Yesterday, on National Voter Registration Day, the White House hosted a roundtable discussion to hear directly from youth leaders about their nonpartisan efforts to promote youth civic engagement across the country. College and high school student leaders from Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Texas discussed their nonpartisan efforts to help eligible young Americans register to vote and cast their ballots. Leaders of organizations that support nonpartisan youth civic engagement highlighted their work to strengthen young peoples’ ability to make their voices heard and have an impact on issues that they care most about. Participants discussed barriers to voting that young Americans face, including unfamiliarity with the voting process, lack of access to and information about voter registration opportunities and convenient ballot polling locations or ballot drop boxes, voter suppression such as laws that limit the ability of students to use their school IDs to vote, and the chilling effect of state restrictions on voter registration activity. During the roundtable, the Biden-Harris Administration discussed its efforts to expand voting access for young Americans, including improving and promoting vote.gov, which offers guides for college students and those approaching voting age, and the Department of Education’s toolkit to provide schools with nonpartisan strategies to help their eligible students register to vote and cast their ballots.
As extremists across the country continue to advance policies that make it harder for Americans to vote and spread baseless lies to sow doubt about the integrity of our elections, the Biden-Harris Administration reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to ensuring that all eligible Americans, regardless of their political affiliation, are able to vote in free, fair, and secure elections. That is why, for example, Vice President Harris announced National Voter Registration Day as one of three National Days of Action on Voting Rights. President Biden and Vice President Harris will continue to stand up to attacks on Americans’ fundamental right to vote, and call on Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act to fully protect the right to vote for all eligible Americans in every state.
Additionally, on National Voter Registration Day, the Biden-Harris Administration announced actions that agencies are taking to promote access to voting for all eligible Americans, building on the progress that agencies have made since President Biden issued an Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting on March, 7, 2021:
- The General Services Administration (GSA) recently launched a revamped vote.gov website, where Americans can find nonpartisan information about registering to vote and how to vote. The new vote.gov is now available in 19 languages, accommodating 96% of the American public, and has new accessibility features like compatibility with screen readers. Vote.gov partnered with the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to now offer an accessible tool that helps voters more easily fill out the National Mail Voter Registration Form online, then print and mail it to their state or territory. While vote.gov itself does not register voters or store any personal data, it serves as a helpful one-stop tool that connects Americans to their state election websites to register to vote.
- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is making it easier for interested consumers on HealthCare.gov to connect to voter registration services. Starting on September 20, 2024, the HealthCare.gov online application will include an optional question allowing consumers to express an interest in receiving information about registering to vote, and those who select to express an interest will receive a link to vote.gov for additional information.
- GSA partnered with the United States Postal Service to display vote.gov posters in approximately 17,000 Post Offices across the country.
September 17, 2024 White House, Washington DC
Sources: Midtown Tribune news, WH.gov
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