To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor
Staff Name and Phone Number: Deva Marie Proto, (707) 565-1877
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Recommended Action:
Title
Adopt a Gold Resolution recognizing September 19, 2023, as National Voter Registration Day.
End
Executive Summary:
In spite of successful efforts by the State of California and the County of Sonoma to increase voter registration, there are still many Sonoma County residents who are eligible to vote but remain unregistered. On September 19, 2023, volunteers and organizations from all over the country - including Sonoma County - will participate in National Voter Registration Day in an attempt to increase public awareness about registering to vote.
Discussion:
Every year, millions of Americans find themselves unable to vote because they are not properly registered. Common reasons for this include missing registration deadlines, forgetting to update one’s registration after a move, or simply not knowing how to register.
California has made great strides in removing these obstacles over the past 15 years by implementing online voter registration (2012), conditional voter registration (a.k.a. “same day registration”) (2017), and automatic voter registration through the Department of Motor Vehicles (2018). As a result, the number of registered voters in Sonoma County has greatly increased over this time period from under 250,000 in October of 2008 to over 300,000 in October of 2022. Still, in spite of these efforts, there are a substantial number of Sonoma County residents who are eligible to vote but remain unregistered.
On September 19, 2023, volunteers and organizations from all over the country will “hit the streets” for National Voter Registration Day. The Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Office has registered as an Official Partner to support this nonpartisan civic holiday and the various field, technology, and media efforts that are taking place to create awareness of voter registration opportunities.
Prior Board Actions:
On September 20, 2022, the Board adopted a gold resolution recognizing September 20, 2022, as National Voter Registration Day (Resolution 2022-0402).
Fiscal Summary
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
N/A
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None
Attachments:
Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None