Tennessee is ranked 40th in the United States in voter registration, and 50th in voter turnout.
To help drive awareness and increase voter participation, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has joined more than 70 other Middle Tennessee businesses, nonprofits and professional organizations in support of Project Register, an effort to raise awareness about the ease of online voter registration in Tennessee.
Project Register is a bipartisan initiative, spearheaded by two of Middle Tennessee’s elected officials — U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (D) and State Sen. Steve Dickerson (R) — who both believe more Tennesseans should be participating in the political process.
“[In voter participation] Tennessee is about dead last in America. That is embarrassing for the Volunteer State,” Cooper said at a recent event to kick-off the project.
“We are obviously all committed to people participating in our republic, and the way you do that, in part, is by voting,” Dickerson said.
Registering to vote in Tennessean is easier than ever; in 2016, the Tennessee General Assembly approved online voter registration.
“Regardless of one’s political views, the statistics around voter participation should be concerning for all Tennesseans. The Medical Center avoids taking political positions but fully supports this collaborative effort to increase voter registration and the opportunity for all members of the VUMC community to participate, by voting, in the political process,” said Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and CEO of VUMC and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “As one of Tennessee’s largest employers we can help play an important role in this effort.”
To register to vote online, you must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of Tennessee, must be 18 years old on or before the next election, and must not have been convicted of a felony, or, if you have, your voting rights must have been restored.
To register to vote online, go to https://ovr.govote.tn.gov/.
