LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Tuesday was National Voter Registration Day, and the Pulaski County Clerk’s Office spearheaded several events to ensure that would-be voters were ready for Election Day.
“We in the clerk's office wanted to do something to make a really big deal out of it,” Assistant Chief Deputy Candace Edwards said. “Get the community excited.”
That thought led to Vote Fest, an event in the heart of downtown Little Rock where potential voters could get registered while enjoying food trucks and music from a live DJ.
Midway through the event, Edwards said the clerk’s office had already accepted “five to 10” registrations, and a city social media post said over100 people signed a pledge to vote and tell their friends to do the same.
"We need to make sure that we get out and vote,” Edwards said, “So that we can have a say in who our leaders are in the future."
That sentiment was echoed at locations around the county, with seven other pop-up sites registering voters at colleges and even Hall Steam Magnet High School.
Owen Haynes was a volunteer registering people at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock (UALR). He hears many people say they're intimidated by federal elections, but said that's no reason not to vote.
“They think federal politics is kind of nasty, and they want to stay out of it,” Haynes said. “But there are so many local issues that matter that can absolutely be decided by just a couple of votes... if everyone just gets involved with local politics and finds issues they care about, then they can make changes in those issues just by going to vote."
Vivian Angeles, vice president of the UALR Student Government Association, will be doing that for the first time this November.
Angeles said she was excited to be registering others as a first-time voter.
“We have the job of sending these to the clerk's county office,” Angeles said. “I feel like we, as the younger generation, have a very loud voice in our next presidency and future for this nation, so I think it's incredibly important for these students to get out there and vote."
Angeles and other volunteers were also handing out Constitution booklets and registration forms, as Tuesday was also Constitution Day.
As for what Pulaski County residents should do if they missed Tuesday’s events and aren’t yet registered, Edwards said they have a few options.
“You can go to your local libraries,” Edwards said. “You can come to the clerk's office. You can go to our website, pulaskiclerk.com, print the registration off and mail it to our office at 401 East Markham Street… make sure you get them to us early so we can get them all processed.”
The deadline to register for this year's elections is Oct. 7, with Election Day slated for Nov. 5.