National Voter Registration Day 2019 FINAL REPORT Contents Introduction ..………………………………………………………3 Background ……………………………………………………….. 4 By the Numbers ……………………………………………………5 Election Officials .……….………………………………………..12 Across the Aisle …………………………………………………..13 Premier Partners ……………………..…………………….........14 Premier Partners - Nonprofits ..…………………….................16 Premier Partners - Media & Tech Partners .…………………... 25 Premier Partners - Celebrities & Social Media Influencers .... 29 On the Airwaves and in Print ………………………………….. 31 Stories from the Field …………………………………………... 32 Supporting, Innovating, and Scaling Up ……………………... 35 National Voter Registration Day 2020 .………………………. 37 Financials …………………………………………………………38 Acknowledgements …………………………………………….. 39 Sponsor Opportunities ………………………………………… 40 NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org 192 Introduction A very special thanks to all of the partners across the country who hit the streets, the airwaves, and the Internet on September 24 to make 2019’s National Voter Registration Day a success beyond our wildest expectations. With this report, we celebrate the success of the holiday As members of National Voter Registration Day’s Steering Committee, and its growing role in strengthening our shared democracy. we are pleased to share results from the 2019 holiday. This year’s success demonstrates the holiday’s growing momentum and place as a With your help in 2019, we registered over 470,000 milestone in local and national electoral processes alike. voters, had one million face-to-face conversations about National Voter Registration Day provides election officials like us, and the importance of voting, and brought new voters and our many civically-minded community partners, an opportunity to raise organizations into the political process. awareness of deadlines and let citizens know where to turn with questions about voting in their states. We spent this year’s holiday out As we head towards 2020, the lessons learned and in the communities we serve, alongside longtime voters and new ones, enthusiasm generated by this year’s holiday have us poised talking about how and why to get registered to vote. for another year of record-breaking success. We are glad to see the important work of National Voter Registration Day grow and blossom year after year, and look forward to its continued The National Voter Registration Day Team success in 2020 and beyond. Secretary Steven Simon Secretary Kim Wyman Minnesota Secretary of State Washington Secretary of State NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org 193 Background Every year, millions of Americans are unable to vote because of a missed registration deadline or other problems with their registration. Recognizing this challenge, National But National Voter Registration Day is more than just a single day of action. It’s the Voter Registration Day was created in start of a conversation. It’s about engaging citizens who have been left out of the democratic process, sparking civic volunteerism, educating voters, and promoting shared 2012 as a single day of coordinated democratic values. And most importantly, it’s about Americans across the political media and field events to help spectrum setting aside their differences to celebrate the rights and opportunities we all eligible voters get registered, or share as participants in our country’s democracy. update their registration, ahead of Year after year, we are heartened by the stories we hear about groups organizing voter registration activities for the first time, new voters who register simply because this is the state deadlines. Thanks to the work first time they’ve been asked to do so, and individuals and organizations alike for whom of thousands of partner organizations the holiday is the start of a new way of interacting with elections and civic participation and tens of thousands of volunteers in their communities. In 2019, National Voter Registration Day reached unprecedented heights for an each year, over 2.9 million voters “off-year” in which national elections did not take place. Its reach spanned across the have registered to vote as part of public and private sectors, with activities organized online and in communities across the holiday. the country – with the holiday clearly making its way into the mainstream and onto the national map. NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org 194 By the Numbers 473 new or updated voter registrations ,725 This is more than three times the previous record for an “off-year” without a federal election. NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org 195 By the Numbers Voter Registration 2,098 414 4,41 * 1,110 3,907 575 81 50 * 552 3,839 44 * 4,595 20 7 151 812 4,017 9,74 * 4,92 31 * 18 1,329 * 2,141 2,052 2,30 8,108 2,147 4,803 5,207 93 14 8,747 8,544 1,34 7,82 344 50 1,21 1,35 2,897 442 2,585 8,505 344 4,18 344 2,021 * 1,47 1,193 952 3,729 1,074 455 5,139 ,182 9,991 895 144 322 31,988 * 1,17 5,778 2,705 * 2,898 3,123 934 2,535 113 * 8,933 1,19 1,19 2,3 1,052 1,494 DC ,319 70 3,805 * 3,237 3 20,02 1,995 ,81 94 * 2,20 110 475 5,9 7,940 Blue: Registrations reported by community partners in the field Red: Online voter registrations reported * States where online registration is not available North Dakota does not require registration to vote. All state-level online voter registration data provided courtesy of NASED NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org 196 By the Numbers Online Registrations + Over 155,000 Field Registrations 170,744 55,237 51,218 49,124 42,116 Baseline* 17,000 9/21 9/22 9/23 9/24 9/25 2019 National Voter Registration Day * Daily state online registration totals are typically closer to 17,000. The surge associated with National Voter Registration Day can be seen in the days before and after the holiday as well as on the day itself. NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org 197 By the Numbers Community Partners 4 official community, partners083 19,816 volunteers and staff NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org 198 By the Numbers Community Partners 4,087 4,083 2019 marks the first “off-year” that partnership levels did not decline following a major national election cycle. 3,524 Original Goal: 3,500 2,851 2,263 2,061 1,223 4 official community, partners083 931 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Presidential Local and State Midterm Local and State Presidential Local and State Midterm Local and State Election Year Election Year Election Year Election Year Election Year Election Year Election Year Election Year NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org 199 By the Numbers Traditional Media , 27 major national stories 2 TV and radio 536stories 1 local print, and online348 stories NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org 1910 By the Numbers Social Media , , 2 engagements 596(likes shares, comments) 789 40,506 original posts 402,313 posts and reposts NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org 1911 Election Officials National Voter Registration Day enjoyed the support of election administrators at every level. The holiday is increasingly used by election National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS): NASS issued a press release highlighting National Voter officials as an opportunity to raise awareness of Registration Day, complementing the association’s 2019 state-specific voter registration policies and resolution recognizing the holiday. With leadership from deadlines, bolster community relationships, and NASS, Secretaries of State across the nation championed the holiday within their states. broaden understanding of electoral processes. National Association of State Election Directors (NASED): To complement its current resolution recognizing National In addition to resolutions issued by major national- Voter Registration Day, NASED encouraged its members level bodies, scores of state and local election to plan activities on the holiday, and also used its digital offices, municipal governments, and others presence to raise awareness of the holiday and direct voters to their state election offices for accurate information issued statements in support of the holiday. At the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC): federal level, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan In 2019, the EAC passed a resolution recognizing the holiday resolution recognizing this year’s holiday. At least on a standing basis, and shared content online on how and why to participate in voter registration. The holiday was used 33 of the 38 Secretaries of State in charge of by the EAC as the culmination of a month-long effort to raise elections actively promoted the holiday online, awareness of voter registration opportunities. and many local election officials did the same, Election Center: often partnering with community groups to After passing its first resolution supporting the holiday in 2018, the Election Center – a national professional organization for conduct voter registration events. election officials and voter registration administrators – promoted National Voter Registration Day across its network. NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org 1912 Across The Aisle Parties and political actors from across the political spectrum celebrated National Voter Registration Day this year. All major political parties recognized the holiday High-profile political figures from across the political spectrum likewise this year through social media activity and urged their followers to celebrate National Voter Registration Day. in-person events. Countless members of Congress and local-level elected officials used their official social media accounts to encourage voters to register on the holiday, as did almost all of the 2020 presidential candidates from both major