Secretary of State
Secretary Grayson Declares September 2008 National Voter Registration Month

(Frankfort, KY) – Secretary of State Trey Grayson, President-elect of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), today joined fellow members of NASS in declaring September 2008 National Voter Registration Month.  NASS represents chief state election officials in 39 states.  Secretary Grayson is working with Kentucky’s local election administrators to make the state’s eligible voters aware of registration deadlines and requirements for this year’s presidential election, as well as promoting state resources to help with the registration process.

“National Voter Registration Month gives citizens, civic groups, and political parties an easy way to engage citizens in the democratic process.  I am hopeful that through the efforts of these groups and individuals, we will see a record number of voters registered in Kentucky,” commented Grayson.

The deadline to register for the upcoming election is Monday, October 6, 2008.  County Clerks’ offices throughout Kentucky will accept voter registration cards until the close of business that day.  A postmark of October 6, 2008 is also required for all mail-in voter registration applications. Registration cards can be obtained over the internet at www.vote.ky.gov/register. 

NASS established National Voter Registration Month to encourage voter participation and to increase awareness of state voter registration requirements and deadlines, many of which occur at the end of September or the beginning of October. 

According to U.S. Census figures, 55 million of 197 million eligible voters did not register to vote in 2004.  Of that figure, more than six million eligible voters said they did not vote in the November 2004 election because they missed their state’s voter registration deadline.  Five percent of non-voters from that year told Census officials they did not know how or where to register to vote.

"The need for public information and education on voter registration will be extremely critical this year as more than a hundred million Americans prepare to take part in the presidential election," said NASS President Pedro A. Cortés, Pennsylvania Secretary of State.  “Thanks to the hard work of state and local election officials, the registration process for new and first-time voters is faster and easier than ever.”

This year, 29 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are offering online voter registration lookups designed to help voters check their registration status and update their information. Kentucky first began offering this service, the Voter Information Center, during the 2004 presidential election cycle.  To check your voter registration status, please visit: www.vote.ky.gov/vic.

NASS provides links to more than 50 state, county and city Web sites that allow eligible voters to check their voter registration records and offers a link to an online voter registration application at www.canivote.org.

As part of his initiative to draw greater attention to civic literacy and engagement, Secretary Grayson, a former Co-Chair of the National Association of Secretaries of State’s Voter Participation Committee, previously asked the legislature to deem October Kentucky civics month to follow upon Voter Registration Month.  Civics month is part of the Civic Literacy Initiative of Kentucky, a multi-year effort to increase the civic literacy and engagement of Kentucky’s citizens.  The effort has been recognized as one of the top in the nation for its efforts.  For more information about the initiative, visit: http://sos.ky.gov/secdesk/initiatives/civics/.

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