Amarillo group helps citizens on National Voter Registration Day

Michael Cuviello, Amarillo Globe-News
·2 min read

In honor of National Voter Registration Day, the Amarillo League of Women Voters hosted registration drives throughout the Amarillo area on Tuesday.

The drive took place at multiple city of Amarillo library locations and at the Amarillo High School. About 71 students were registered to vote, with a few at each of the libraries.

Michelle Hoggatt, a co-president of the Amarillo League of Women Voters (LWV), spoke about its continued mission to get voters registered and to keep them informed.

“It’s important to get people involved in their community and involved in their local municipalities,” Hoggatt said. “Voting is the way to do it; if they feel their vote matters, they will be more involved. We are especially concerned with younger people, and that is why we go to high schools. Younger people have lower voting rates. Eighteen- to 25-year-olds have the lowest voting rate across the nation. We are trying really hard to reach voters in the younger age ranges.”

Co-President of the League of Women Voters, Michelle Hoggatt, was available to help register voters Tuesday at the Amarillo North Library.
Co-President of the League of Women Voters, Michelle Hoggatt, was available to help register voters Tuesday at the Amarillo North Library.

Hoggatt said that the LWV goal is not only to get people registered, but to get them involved in the process. She said that a plan is important to make sure that people get used to the idea of voting. Hoggatt said that parents taking their kids with them to vote is a great way to familiarize them with voting.

When addressing the low turnout in the state among voters, Hoggatt said that when people do not realize the importance of voting, it does not get prioritized. She said that the group works to educate voters on how the issues being voted on affect their everyday lives. She said that the goal is to inform voters about what measures may affect everybody, with the benefits and consequences it could have for each person.

Hoggatt said that the LWV is firmly committed to giving people as great an opportunity to vote as possible and opposed any measures that would reduce the likelihood of eligible individuals being able to vote.

“People need to realize that every vote matters and that everybody should be represented in the process,” Hoggatt said. “We need to remind people how important they are to the process.”

Last year, LWV registered more than 600 voters. If your organization, business, nonprofit, or church is interested in having LWV register your employees or members, please contact them at amarillolwv@gmail.com or 806-337-2148.

The next election will be the state Constitutional Amendment Election on Nov. 7, and the deadline to register to vote is Oct. 10.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo LWV hosts drives on National Voter Registration Day