Marin Election Officials Encourage ​Residents To Register To Vote

MARIN COUNTY, CA — The Marin County Elections Department is encouraging residents to register to vote.

The eighth annual National Voter Registration Day is Sept. 22, and the Nov. 3 General Election is just weeks away. After Oct. 19, residents who want to vote in the November election will be required to register and vote in the Elections Department at the Marin County Civic Center or at their polling place.

Marin County Registrar of Voters Lynda Roberts and her staff are marking the occasion in different ways this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Typical in-person registration events like those held in previous years are not possible because of health guidelines against public gatherings and requirements for social distancing.

On Sept. 22, there will be a self-serve voter information table outside the Elections Department at 3501 Civic Center Drive, Suite 121, in San Rafael. The table will have voter packets encouraging people to register five more voters and a posted bar code that directs passers-by to register online, according to the Elections Department. The Marin County Library Association plans to put up outdoor signage and College of Marin plans to email a reminder to all students.

Marin has traditionally had a high voter participation rate.

A record-breaking 170,533 people are registered so far for the upcoming election. An estimated 10,600 residents are eligible but not registered to vote, according to data provided by the California Secretary of State's Office.

Roberts said voter registration should be seen as an act of exercising democracy.

"It's a reminder that participation in our government and our society by voting in elections is really important to our country," she said.

"Engaging in decision-making is a right that is sometimes taken for granted. We shouldn't forget that it's a freedom many people in this world do not have. Our nation's founders fought for that freedom and through the centuries we've gradually brought in more and more voices through voter registration."

Find the online voter registration form at www.sos.ca.gov.