National Voter Education Week Aims To Prepare Atlanta Voters

ATLANTA — The upcoming National Voter Education Week offers residents of Atlanta another opportunity to get prepared for the next election.

The weeklong event, to be held Oct. 4-8 in 2021, helps voters “bridge the gap” between registering to vote and actually casting a ballot, according to the website for the National Voter Education Week initiative.
“During this week of interactive education, voters have the opportunity to find their polling location, understand their ballot, make a plan to vote in person or remotely, and more,” the initiative’s description reads.
Now in its second year, National Voter Education Week comes as many states have revised voting laws in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and on the heels of a 2020 presidential election that saw a record number of early voters.
Nearly 1 in 5 states, including Georgia, passed restrictive election laws following the election that tighten absentee voting windows and impose new rules on casting ballots and running elections.

Following the 2020 election, nine states passed legislation that sponsors say improves election security. Critics, however, say the legislation makes it harder for people to vote.

In Kansas, one law effectively shuts down voter registration drives by making it a felony to impersonate an election official, according to a National Public Radio report, a standard that could depend entirely on mistaken impressions. In Montana, state lawmakers eliminated Election Day voter registration.

In Georgia, signature matching for absentee voting is gone, the secretary of state has diminished authority over elections, and it is illegal for volunteer groups to provide refreshments for voters waiting in the often-times lengthy lines to cast their ballots. Also, locked ballot drop boxes available 24 hours a day during the 2020 election will only be available inside government buildings during business hours.

National Voter Education Week has outlined a simple step to take each day that aims to develop residents from unregistered voters to citizens well-informed about what’s on their ballot.

• On Monday, Oct. 4, the initiative stresses the #VoteReady hashtag, urging people to register to vote or check their registration status.
• Tuesday brings the #MailReady step, when people can request a mail-in ballot.
• On Wednesday, it is #VotePlanReady, in which people can make their plans to vote.
• #BallotReady comes Thursday, when the initiative urges registered voters to learn about what’s on their ballot.
• And Friday brings it back to #VoteReady, with the initiative calling on people to “level up your voting engagement.”

Registering to vote in Georgia is simple. Pick up a voter registration application from the County Board of Registry Office, a public library, public assistance office, recruitment office, schools, and other government offices, or download it from the Secretary of State’s office, then mail it in. Or, when you apply for or renew your Georgia Drivers License or State Identification, you can be automatically registered to vote.

You can also register to vote directly on the National Voter Education Week website.

Just under one-third of people who voted in the 2020 presidential election did so in person after states expanded mail-in balloting and early voting due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

In fact, 2020 was the first time in the history of the survey that a majority of voters did not cast their ballots in person on Election Day.

While new laws may have changed the landscape of mail-in voting, it’s important to know when you need to register by, as well as other key election deadlines in Georgia.

The deadline to register to be eligible to vote in the Nov. 2 election is Monday, Oct. 4.