Groups canvass Louisiana on National Voter Registration Day

By Wesley Muller
Contributing Writer

(lailluminator.com) – Volunteers and advocacy groups spent much of Tuesday canvassing neighborhoods and knocking on doors for National Voter Registration Day.

Held annually every September, National Voter Registration Day is a nonpartisan civic event during which volunteers and organizations take to the streets in a coordinated effort to assist people in registering to vote.

It comes just four days before the Sept. 23 deadline to register voters through the Louisiana Secretary of State’s online system in time for the Oct. 14 gubernatorial primary election. Early voting for the election takes place Sept. 30 through Oct. 7, excluding Sunday, Oct. 1.

Most other states saw multiple organizations host in-person events for the holiday, according to the National Voter Registration Day website. Louisiana had just one event listed – the Bossier Parish NAACP’s voter registration drive and celebration Tuesday afternoon at the Pierre Bossier Mall.

Other groups in Louisiana participated in other ways. The Power Coalition of Equity and Justice deployed 175 volunteers to knock on the doors of unregistered voters in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Alexandria and Shreveport, according to coalition president Ashley Shelton.

“Your vote is your voice and power, but that power cannot be used if you are not registered,” Shelton said. “Walk in your power and register to vote to have your voice heard and elect leaders committed to serving the people of Louisiana.”

The Power Coalition and other advocacy groups in Louisiana actually began registering voters and hosting drives several days ago as part of the inaugural Louisiana Black and Brown Voter Registration Day, held Sept. 16. The Urban League of Louisiana and Southern Poverty Law Center organized that event in partnership with the Power Coalition, League of Women Voters Louisiana, Black Voters Matter and Voice of the Experienced.

Last Tuesday’s work was mostly just a continuation of the efforts that began over the weekend, Shelton said.

National Voter Registration Day has proven effective in promoting civic engagement, prompting a total of more than five million registrations since it was first observed in 2012, according to its website. Founded by Montana activist Matt Singer, the event now operates under the direction of a steering committee led by Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams and Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon.

Shelton said the Power Coalition typically gets about 300 to 500 registrations in its Louisiana voter drive each year. The group was well on its way to surpass that number with 497 registrations as of 2 p.m. Tuesday.

In September 2020, ahead of the presidential election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, volunteers in Louisiana added about 30,000 registrations on National Voter Registration Day, Shelton said.

There are roughly 2.9 million people registered to vote in Louisiana out of a voting-eligible population of about 3.5 million, according to data from the Louisiana Secretary of State.

This article originally published in the September 25, 2023 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.