14 Sep National Voter Registration Day: September 19
One of the many takeaways that we got from our Mastermind McPherson County Survey and Summit is that Leadership is an important focus for all of our communities. With National Voter Registration Day coming up on Sept. 19th we’d thought it necessary to share some information on registering to vote and important dates to know about our county’s upcoming election.
About the Need for the Holiday
★ National Voter Registration Day is the nation’s biggest nonpartisan civic holiday dedicated to getting every eligible American registered to vote for their next election.
★ Americans can register to vote when they turn 18 or become a citizen, but they also need to update their registration for any number of reasons, such as moving to a new address or changing their name. Many Americans are unaware of this need or state registration deadlines, preventing them from voting.
★ A 2020 study by the Knight Foundation found that more than one in four unregistered voters (27%) reported not being registered because they didn’t know how, kept forgetting, didn’t have time, were too busy, or recently moved. Among unregistered voters ages 18–24, this number was even higher: 42%.
★ When the registered voting population doesn’t reflect the population as a whole, we end up with a distorted democracy that fails to reflect the views of the country at large. If we’re going to build a democracy that truly represents us all, the best solution is closing registration gaps through on-the-ground voter outreach that meets often disenfranchised groups where they are.
Important Dates to know for McPherson County:
- November 7th 2023 City/School General Election
- All polling places in McPherson County will be open on Election Day from 7AM – 7PM
- We will post sample ballots as soon as we receive them. There will be a link to them here on this website or you may request one at the Clerk’s office.
- October 17th will be your last day to update your voter registration or register to vote if you are not already registered. If you do not update your registration or register in time you can still vote but it will have to be Provisional. You may register to vote or update your registration at the Clerks office or at ksvotes.org.
- October 18th is the start of Advance Voting in person here at the Clerk’s office during normal business hours (Monday thru Friday 8AM -5PM).
- November 6th Advance Voting ends at noon. We encourage you to not wait till last minute. Advance voting always ends at Noon the Monday before an election. This allows us time to get ballots and equipment packed and ready for election day.
- November 13th 2023 will be the County Canvass. The Clerk will ask the Commissioners permission to open the provisional ballots at 9AM and the final counts will follow.