Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett, right, checks out voter registration materials in the atrium of Roane State’s Coffey-McNally building on the Oak Ridge campus. Also shown from left: registration workers Dianne Petrilla; Corey Reed, Roane State’s student engagement coordinator; and Roane State associate professor Betty Glenn.
Sept. 21, 2018
By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer
“Are you registered to vote?”
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett asked that question repeatedly Sept. 17 to Roane State Community College students passing through the atrium of the Coffey-McNally building on the Oak Ridge campus.
Hargett is crisscrossing the Volunteer State during September - National Vote Registration Month - to make residents aware that now is the time to sign up if they want to cast ballots in the mid-term elections on Nov. 6.
Hargett’s stop at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus was part of a busy schedule that included visits to Walters State and Pellissippi State in a bid to encourage students to register.
For Hargett, it’s a two-pronged effort. He’s president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, and NASS has also declared Sept. 25 as National Voter Registration Day.
Hargett said he’s traveled the state each September for 10 years, urging residents to register to vote. The state’s Division of Elections is part of the Secretary of State’s office.
The nonpartisan effort is to encourage voter participation and let residents know about state requirements and deadlines. That deadline to sign up to vote is Oct. 9, or 29 days before the election.
Hargett launched the state’s first online voter registration effort last September with an event at Roane State’s campus in Roane County, said Corey Reed, the college’s student engagement coordinator. All Roane State locations assist to promote voter registration.
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