GREENSBORO, N.C. — People across the nation are celebrating National Voter Registration Day by helping people register to vote.
The nonpartisan day was first observed in 2012. Since then, nearly 3 million voters have been registered on the civic holiday.
The holiday has been endorsed by several organizations including the National Association of Secretaries of State and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
There are several events happening across the country. The National Voter Registration Day website has a guide to finding events near you.
You can find out how to register to vote by visiting the NC State Board of Elections.
Organizations like NCPIRGstudents.org said they have more than 100 interns in colleges across the state. The group is working with students at Unc- Greensboro, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC Charlotte, UNC Pembroke, NC State University, App State, Durham Technical Community College, Forsyth Tech Community College, Davidson Community College, Guilford Technical Community College, and more on events and activities surrounding the holiday.
"When you tell young people that they have the largest group of potential voters that's really exciting and I find a lot of students are excited to hear that," said Jen Hibberts, a student organizer with NCPIRG.
So far, students with the organization have reached out to more than 13,000 potential first-time voters at those North Carolina college campuses.
"This is the second most likely state where a high voter turnout can result in changes in the election especially among youth voter turn out so the work we're doing is critical," said Ethan Barbin, an organizer for NCPIRG in the Triad area.
The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the election landscape and how organizers engage with potential voters in 2020. NCPIRG said the pandemic however has motivated young Americans to lead efforts to mobilize each other and their communities, but with some constraints.
"Not understanding what address they need to use to register, where their voting locations are, and things like that and that's a big reason why I've been focusing on the education piece," said Devin Green, also a student organizer.