FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016
Contact: Kristen Muszynski, 626-8404

Secretary Dunlap hosting ?Voter Reg Rumble? competition to encourage youth registration

AUGUSTA ? This General Election season, Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap is hosting a voter registration competition encouraging students to get involved in the electoral process.

The 2016 Voter Reg Rumble will consist of two competitions, one for colleges and universities, and one for high schools. Throughout the state, schools will face off to see which school can get the most people to complete a voter registration card by the deadline of Monday, Oct. 17.

?Through the Voter Reg Rumble, we are encouraging students to register as voters and embrace their life-long civic duty of making the choices that will shape their communities,? said Secretary Dunlap. ?Every vote really does count ? it?s not just something we say ? and if you don?t believe it, come to a recount sometime.

?That ability to shape our democracy is a true privilege. We hope Maine?s young people recognize how important it is to cast your ballot, and can share that message with their peers.?

Any student group can participate by hosting a voter registration event/booth/or other effort to collect completed voter registration cards on their school campus. Voter registration can be encouraged for students who are in-state or out-of-state residents, as well as staff, faculty, visitors ? any citizen who is eligible to vote in the United States.

The winning schools at each level will receive a visit from Secretary Dunlap, who will meet with students to discuss the importance of voting, the challenges of overseeing the elections process, and to listen to their ideas and concerns about voting. The secretary?s office will also announce the results of the contest publicly.

The Department of the Secretary of State is sending a Voter Reg Rumble information packet, including voter registration cards for Maine residents, to each school. Promotional materials for students to print and display, as well as links to additional resources, are available on the Maine Department of the Secretary of State website, http://www.maine.gov/sos/kids/student-programs/voterregdrive.html 
More information about the Voter Reg Rumble is available on the Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions website. School participation will be updated on the department Facebook page.