There are four numbers I think about every day:
17,318,000.
9,632,000.
7,235,000.
19,226,000.
17,318,000? That's the number of unmarried women in America who are eligible to vote but have never registered to vote.
9,632,000? The number of Latinos who are not registered to vote.
7,235,000? There are more than 7 million African Americans who are not registered to vote.
And 19,226,000? That's the number of young voters, ages 18 to 29, who are eligible but not registered to vote.
These shockingly large figures, made public in November 2012 by the U.S. Census Bureau, have barely made a ripple in the news or on social media. And that's why tomorrow is so important. Tomorrow is National Voter Registration Day, and a great opportunity to remind eligible Americans to register to vote and participate in our democracy.
Over 2,000 groups in all 50 states have joined forces this year to celebrate National Voter Registration Day, the largest single-day effort of the year to register voters. Now in its third year, more than 350,000 voters have registered on National Voter Registration Day through field and online efforts by thousands of partners and supporters.
At the Voter Participation Center, we have mailed more than 12 million voter-application forms since the start of the year, in the biggest voter-registration drive in our history in a non-presidential year. We mailed more than 7 million voter forms this month alone, to 28 states, to members of the Rising American Electorate -- people of color, unmarried women and voters ages 18-29. While presidential election years tend to get most of the public's attention, the midterms this year are crucially important, with control of the U.S. Senate on the line.
To register, you can check out voter-registration deadlines in your state by visiting our Be Counted website here. Or by visiting the National Voter Registration Day homepage here.
Reach out tomorrow to someone who may not be registered to vote. It was President Lyndon Johnson who, at the signing of the Voting Rights Act nearly 50 years ago, declared that "the vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice." Let's take maximum advantage of this powerful instrument and register to vote.