Indivisible Northern Nevada held Get Out the Vote Night, a successful and upbeat non-partisan voter registration Friday night at Under the Rose Brewing Company, a brewpub in Midtown.
“Voter registration is important. Our democracy is healthiest when everyone votes. We don’t want to leave any voices out. So were trying to get as many voices involved in this conversation,” said Nicole Obritsch, a volunteer with Indivisible Northern Nevada.
Indivisible Northern Nevada’s Get Out the Vote Night focused on follow-up voter registration, outreach for new voters, and information about early voting (Oct. 20-Nov. 2) where multiple convenient locations with a range of open hours are available. This one-stop shop provided a list of early voting and voting registration sites, 6 convenient non-partisan ways to check out the candidates and statewide ballot questions.
In an effort to make a healthier democracy, Nevada now has a new voter pre-registration for youth, age 17. This service is in addition to early voting and convenient voter registration areas all throughout Reno.
“We like to help people find the closest and most convenient way to ensure that people will vote, whether it is close to their work or where they live,” said Kathy Williams, a volunteer with Get Out the Vote Night.
The venue for Get Out the Vote Night’s was requested by Under The Rose’s owner Jesse Kleinedler, an empowered and passionate community member who wants to ensure today’s generation is speaking up in democracy.
Kleinedler commented:“Statistically speaking, the majority of voters in our country are of a different generation and the consequences of choices in democracy right now will be a ripple effect and will be seen years 20 to 30 years or more, down the road. We need to get all the young people involved and watching what happens, even though they may not necessarily care right now.”
Volunteer Monique Normand addressed the lack of representation of young voters in our democracy, “There’s a lot of young people that don’t know there’s power in voting and don’t quite understand how the government works and those kind of things. I was one of those people. I just feel like for me it’s important to teach other people and understand and grow and be a part of the democratic system.”
Voter registration takes less than two minutes, requires minimal and basic information such as first and last name, physical address, and either your driver’s license number or last four of your social security number. Non-partisan hand outs are provided with resources about voting and additional information on current candidates.
Kathy Williams, a volunteer at Get Out the Vote Night emphasized, “We really want to raise awareness that voting day is just around the corner and that’s more our goal than anything else.”
For more information on voting and voting registration locations in Washoe County check out: http://newtoreno.com/election2018-primary-washoe-nevada.htm
For Washoe County’s official 2018 Election Information, check out: https://www.washoecounty.us/voters/2018electioninformation/index.php
