Sanders Institute Launches Voter Registration Initiative (Video)
In the last election, there were more than 224 million citizens over the age of 18 in the U.S., but only 157 million were registered voters, and even fewer actually voted.
In November 2016, there were more than 224 million citizens over the age of 18 in the United States, yet only around 157 million were registered to vote. Even fewer actually voted. The Sanders Institute, an educational nonprofit co-founded by Bernie Sanders’ wife, Jane Sanders, wants to address that issue.
The group has launched a new initiative to increase turnout by raising awareness of the problems with voting registration and encouraging eligible voters to make deadlines. In a blog post, the Sanders Institute writes:
These complicated and varying laws by state mean that extensive research is needed to know when and how you can register to vote in each state. This can be extremely difficult for populations who have little or no access to the internet or time to know who to ask.
Ultimately, this convoluted registration system is decreasing turnout in many areas in the United States. We know this because same-day voter registration has a history of increasing voter turnout and therefore voter participation in our democracy.
A report by Nonprofit Vote looked at voter turnout by state in 2016 and highlighted the states with same-day registration. They found a high correlation between voter turnout and states with same-day registration in 2016.
The study by Nonprofit Vote has tracked this difference between states that have same-day voter registration and those that do not since 1996,
States with same-day registration have consistently shown higher voter turnout.
–posted by Emily Wells
Your support matters…Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.
You can help level the playing field. Become a member.
Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.
Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.
Economic Justice
Without patent monopolies and related protections, drugs would almost invariably be cheap.
Politics
One campaigner said Biden must "use the full might of the federal government" to cancel student debt "in the face of this lawless and shamefully political ruling."
Economic Justice
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee has released a report revealing how Big Pharma is "ripping off" Americans.
Labor
Rail workers are fighting for better benefits and wages.
On Tuesday, I cast a joyless vote for the very much politically doomed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Illinois primary, in an elementary school where hushed whispers and fearful glances had replaced the normal din of an election day. There was no one standing just outside the perimeter hustling me to vote for this […]
Bernie Sanders gave form and focus to a left that badly needed it. Where does it go from here?