Advocacy

September 25 is National Voter Registration Day. It’s an opportunity for community volunteers and organizations to spotlight educating and assisting voters who are not registered or need to update their registration to reflect an address or name change. Librarians do that all year long! The League of Women Voters of the Northwoods (LWVNOW) recently announced the Voter Education and Registration Assistance Project (VERAP), an innovative new project it is offering through direct contact to libraries in the chapter’s home counties of Florence, Forest, Langlade, Lincoln, Oneida, and Vilas. The tools are, however, available on line for any public or secondary school library that wants to set up a voter registration station.  See below for links. The primary project goal is offering community members an additional location where they can self-register to vote and learn what else they need when they vote. Downloadable tools include an Instructional Notebook for patrons to use at library computers for self-registering to vote, either online at www.myvote.wi.gov  or via paper registration, as well as a Resource Notebook containing up-to-date information on the many questions voters frequently ask: When is the next election? Where do I vote? How can I vote absentee? Who are the candidates on my ballot? Who is my municipal clerk? What is an acceptable proof of my residence? and what can I use as my photo ID? A simplified Instructional Notebook can be adapted to sit beside public computer stations. The Notebooks are available on the LWVNOW Voter Information webpage 

• VERAP Resource Notebook 
• VERAP Instructional Notebook, Online Voter Registration Instructions at MyVote.wi.gov
• VERAP Simplified Instructional Notebook, How to Register to Vote on MyVote.wi.gov 

Registration may be done by mail or online up to 20 days before the election. Voters may register in person at their municipal clerk’s office up until the Friday before the election at 5:00 p.m. or close of business, whichever is later.  Voters may also register at the polls on Election Day.  Proof of residency must be provided in all cases. For additional information see also Bring it to the Ballot Voting in Wisconsin and The Voter Photo Identification Law. LWVNOW, a chapter of the US and Wisconsin League of Women Voters, is a nonpartisan political organization that neither supports nor opposes candidates for office at any level of government. VERAP was inspired by collaborations between the Kenosha Public Library and their City Clerk’s office; and by the LWV of Milwaukee County, Milwaukee School District and the Milwaukee Elections Commission.  The intent is to distribute VERAP tools statewide. Nearly 2,900 partners participated in National Voter Registration Day last year. Almost 125,000 citizens registered or updated their registration on National Voter Registration Day. Since the day was founded in 2012, more than 1.6 million voters have registered.