Voting & Democracy In The News

As candidates blaze trails coast to coast, those itching to have their say in who becomes our next president are finding more options, with registration drives popping up all over the area in advance of Election Day.

This weekend, Boston launched efforts to involve non-English speaking voters with the “Now is the Time” campaign. The initiative kicked off Saturday with registration events across the city, and the Election Department today will add 300 registration boxes to libraries, health centers and community centers in areas with large immigrant populations.

“Being civically engaged is about more than voting, and Now is the Time is a great step to getting residents more involved in the city as a whole,” said Mayor Thomas Menino. “We will urge everyone to let their voice be heard.”

The number of voters should increase if the Election Day Registration bill — which would enable polling centers to register voters on Nov. 4 — is enacted before then. The Senate passed the bill but the House left it in limbo with no action before the legislative session ended July 31.

In the meantime, students are doing their part.

“We have a lot of power and people are just starting to realize that,” said Vanessa Wright, who served root beer floats at UMass-Boston on Thursday as part of  MASSPIRG’s New Voters Project.

Other areas are getting creative, too. Officials in Worcester are planning to use supermarkets as polling stations to attract a larger turnout.