Washington, D.C. –  To celebrate National Voter Registration Day, the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund is hosting a national Civic Engagement Week of Action beginning today to educate and engage voters historically excluded from voter registration initiatives and announcing the expansion of two states in its 2022 voter registration program. This expansion is a continuation of LCVEF’s largest non-partisan, site-based voter registration program already running in five key states. 

Civic Engagement Week will run from Sept. 20 to 26 and each day will focus on a different theme of civic engagement, including encouraging voters to make a voting plan, taking action to work at the polls, community engagement, and artivism. 

Voter registration also kicked off in two expanded LCVEF programs in Michigan and Wisconsin to register eligible voters historically excluded from the electoral process and largely identify as Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian American or Pacific Islander,  immigrants and/or low income. LCVEF’s site-based voter registration program, launched in May, is already operating in Arizona, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Through conducting outreach to communities facing barriers to voting such as language inaccessibility or lack of information, LCVEF and state affiliates have helped register over 48,000 voters. 

In Michigan, voter registration efforts targeting communities of color and low-income communities kicked off on Aug. 1. Organizers have already registered 2,000 voters out of their goal of 10,000, and similar efforts have taken off in Wisconsin to register 5,000 new voters. The communities reached are the same communities that are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis, making it critically important that they are able to make their voices heard at the ballot box. This work is helping narrow the voting gap, where 70.9% of white voters cast ballots in the 2020 election compared to 58.4% of nonwhite voters.

“From tightening voting laws to redistricting, communities across the country have been fraught with efforts to further disenfranchise voters who see the greatest impacts from the climate crisis and pollution. Ensuring that every voter accesses their right to vote is crucial to protecting our democracy and our environment. We are proud to be working at the grassroots level to ensure that every eligible voter has equitable access to casting their ballot,” said League of Conservation Voters Education Fund Director of Civic Engagement Hilda Nucete.

Ahead of the November election, LCVEF affiliates around the country are continuing to plan mobilization events to authentically reach and educate voters in their communities. Below are some of the events happening across the country for the Civic Engagement Week of Action:

• In Nevada, the Chispa Nevada team is hosting a community party to educate voters about the importance of voting and how to become civically engaged. The event will have music, a photobooth, a bingo game and raffle giveaways to get participants excited about voting.
• The North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Foundation is also hosting a community event targeted towards engaging families. Music, local food trucks,  and interactive art activities will bring together a community of voters and future voters of all ages.
• In addition, our teams in multiple states are continuing their voter education work with organizers on college campuses to register young voters.

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