Charlottesville and Albemarle County hosted a voter registration drive on the Downtown Mall Tuesday in honor of National Voter Registration Day.
The event, which was the first National Voter Registration Day to be held in Charlottesville, served to both register and educate attendees about the state’s new voter ID law.
The 2014 mid-term elections are a little more than a month away, and 471 Congressional seats and 36 governorships are at stake, including 11 House seats and one Senate seat in Virginia.
“We considered this event to be successful, we got a lot of contacts and applications,” registration drive spokesperson Dianne Gilliland said. “The educational aspect of it was very good.”
Gilliland said “a grateful traveler” even stumbled upon the event to learn about casting an absentee ballot.
The United States is notorious for low voter turnout, especially in non-presidential election years. According to the Center for the Study of the American Electorate, voter turnout fell to just 57.5 percent in the 2012 presidential election, lower than the two previous presidential elections.
National Voter Registration Day began in 2012 in order to raise awareness for the president election between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney. The event is non-partisan, emphasizing the dismissal of polarizing beliefs for a higher cause.
For one day, volunteers and grassroots organizations register and educate as many voters as possible. Volunteers station themselves at bus stops, train stations, retail stores and even some sporting events.
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring encouraged all eligible Virginians to register in a press release Tuesday.
"Every Virginian should make a plan now to exercise their right and their duty to vote, and should ensure they are eligible and prepared to do so,” he said.
The registration deadline for the 2014 midterm elections is October 14. Midterm elections will take place Nov. 4.
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