Sept. 22 Marks National Voter Registration Day

Sept. 22 marks National Voter Registration Day, and across the country, eligible voters are registering in preparation for the 2016 elections.

As the co-sponsor of the Voter Empowerment Act, which would require every state to offer online voter registration, authorize automated and same-day registration, and make elections accessible to the disabled and other underserved groups, Representative Tulsi Gabbard says that Hawai’i voter participation has been declining since 1959, and that in recent elections, Hawai’i’s participation has been among the lowest in the country.

“Our nation is founded on the principles of an active, engaged democracy, and we are at our best when the diverse voices of our nation are heard through our citizens exercising their right to vote,” Congresswoman Gabbard said Monday. “As President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said: ‘Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.’ ”

To learn more about registering to vote in Hawai’i, visit the State of Hawai’i Office of Elections website, where you can register online. Hawai’i residents can also call the VOTER Hotline at 1-800-442-8683.