FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015
Contact: Kristen Schulze Muszynski
office: 626-8404/ cell: 441-7638

Secretary Dunlap encourages participation in National Voter Registration Month

AUGUSTA ? In celebration of National Voter Registration Month, the Maine Department of the Secretary of State is encouraging all voting-age citizens to register to vote in preparation for the Tuesday, Nov. 3 referendum election. 

?In Maine we are fortunate to lead the nation in the percentage of eligible citizens who are registered to vote in our elections,? said Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap. ?Nevertheless, there remain Maine citizens who are eligible but are not registered, and it is our goal that every eligible citizen registers and participates in our elections.?

The National Association of Secretaries of State established September as National Voter Registration Month in 2002, to encourage voter participation and increase awareness about state requirements.

In Maine, any U.S. citizen and resident who is 17 years of age or older is eligible to register to vote. Seventeen-year-olds who will be 18 by the time of the next general election (Nov. 8, 2016) are allowed to vote in the June 14, 2016 primary for their political party.

You can register to vote at your town office or city hall, up to and including Election Day. Applications that are mailed to the town or city hall, or delivered by a third person as part of a voter registration drive, must be received in your municipal office by Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015. Voters are reminded that if you have moved or changed your name, you?ll need to update your voter registration in the town or city in which you live.

To encourage Maine?s young people to become engaged in the electoral process, the bureau sends voter registration cards to all public high schools. This year, we?re encouraging students to host their own voter registration drives at school to promote the importance of voting. All of the necessary information on how to conduct a drive is now posted in the Student Programs section of our website, along with posters and logos students can post in the school hallways to promote their event.

To learn more about Maine?s elections, including the online absentee ballot request service, visit: http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/voter-info/index.html.