Voter Registration Drives Held at Local Schools

Weakley County Administrator of Elections Alex Britt recently helped Dresden High School students register to vote.

BY DAVID FISHER

david@dresdenenterprise.com

WEAKLEY COUNTY (September 30) — The Weakley County Election Commission is supporting efforts to increase voter turnout in the 2022 Election.

An important part of adding new names to the list of qualified voters in Weakley County has involved hosting voter registration classes at area high schools, to explain the voting process and to assist those students who are at least 18 years of age or older, to register to vote in upcoming elections.

During September, which is National Voter Registration Month, registration drives were held at all county high schools, as well as at UT Martin.

Weakley County Administrator of Elections Alex Britt, who has spearheaded the registration drive, visited Dresden, Greenfield, Gleason and Westview high schools.

On Tuesday, September 21, Britt held a Voter Registration Class at Greenfield School, where 17 students completed the necessary paperwork to cast their ballots in the 2022 midterm elections.

On Thursday, September 23, a total of 40 Dresden High School students lined up to register to vote.

On Monday, September 27, 16 students at Gleason High School registered to vote in the upcoming 2022 elections.

Britt said, “We visited Westview High School Thursday and helped 67 students get registered to vote. That means 140 Weakley County Schools students got registered during #NationalVoterRegistrationMonth! #GoVoteTN #GoVoteWeakley.”

Britt also participated in TN Voter Registration Tailgate events at the University of Tennessee Martin Football games. Those participating in the voter registration drive include: the University of Tennessee at Martin, UT Martin Athletics, UT Martin Student Government Association, Weakley County Election Commission, Obion County Election Commission and others who worked together to help students and fans register to vote.

These voter registration tailgates are promoted by the Secretary of State’s office and have the goal of holding a voter registration drive during the tailgate before a home game at each school.

“Like most Tennesseans, we love college football and the excitement of game day,” said Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “These Voter Registration Tailgates are the perfect opportunity for us to show students and fans how easy it is to register to vote in Tennessee so that they can get in the game and make their voice heard on Election Day.”

The Voter Registration Tailgates kicked off on Saturday, September 11, at Tennessee Tech University, East Tennessee State University and the University of Tennessee at Martin.

At each tailgate, students and football fans are guided through the registration process in minutes using the Secretary of State’s fast, easy and secure online voter registration system, GoVoteTN.gov. They are also able to get their questions about Tennessee’s easy voting process answered by local election officials.

The Voter Registration Tailgates are part of the Secretary of State’s ongoing efforts to help all eligible Tennesseans register to vote and are one of the many initiatives the office is carrying out in celebration of National Voter Registration Month.

For the latest details about the Voter Registration Tailgates, follow the Secretary of State’s social media channels Twitter: @SecTreHargett, Facebook: Tennessee Secretary of State and Instagram: @tnsecofstate.

For more information about registering to vote in Tennessee, go to GoVoteTN.gov or call the Division of Elections toll-free at 1-877-850-4959.

For more information locally, check out the Weakley County Election Commission website at: https://tnmap.tn.gov/voterlookup/earlyvoting.aspx?County=Weakley; stop by the Weakley County Election Commission, located at 135 South Poplar St. in Dresden; give them a call at 731-364-5564; or email them at elections@weakleycountytn.gov. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The office is closed one hour for lunch.