Solorio launches drive to increase awareness about online voter registration

COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRUSTEE JOSE SOLORIO LAUNCHES DRIVE TO INCREASE AWARENESS ABOUT CALIFORNIA’S ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION PROGRAM

Tell-A-Friend program gives participants a chance to win gas for college or work

Santa Ana, California – College Trustee Jose Solorio has launched an online registration drive in support of National Voter Registration Day, which is September 24, 2013. The drive includes a Facebook campaign, “I Registered. Did You?” at www.facebook.com/solorio4california, which is designed to promote the new statewide online voter registration system that makes it fast and easy to register.

Solorio’s online campaign offers an incentive to those who tell five friends how easy it is to register to vote online. Each person who tells friends will be entered into one of several drawings for up to $250 worth of gas.

“I’m excited to encourage online word-of-mouth discussion about voter registration, particularly on a day like today,” said Solorio, who is a trustee for the Rancho Santiago Community College District. “It’s not the Fourth of July, but September 24 is a special day in that we can reflect on the right we have to vote in this country.”

Solorio said that unfortunately, more than 50 million Americans who are eligible to vote are not registered.  Sadly, according to Voto Latino, American Latinos between the ages of 18 and 25 are less likely to be registered than other groups.

“We tend to think about voting as a stagnant right, one that does not need tending or care. Yet it’s necessary to re-register to vote when we move, not just from state to state, but even between cities or streets,” Solorio said. “If you haven’t registered, it’s never been easier. If you are registered but changed addresses or would prefer to vote-by-mail, you can easily update your information too.”

Thanks to recent state legislation, registering to vote is simpler now. New voters can register to vote online, and current voters can also make updates to their registration like asking to become permanent vote-by-mail voters. Rather than looking around for a paper voter registration form at a government office, new eligible voters can visit the California Secretary of State’s website to register at www.RegisterToVote.Ca.Gov.

Youth are the next generation of voters and Solorio says he’s hopeful that days like National Voter Registration Day are able to inspire them to register and look forward to visiting their local poll spot every Election Day.

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Community College Trustee Jose Solorio is Vice President of the Rancho Santiago Community College District Board of Trustees. The Board oversees Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College, and represents 700,000 residents in the cities of Anaheim, Garden Grove, Irvine, Orange, Santa Ana, Tustin, and Villa Park. For more information about Community College Trustee Solorio, please visit www.JoseSolorio.com or find him on Facebook and Twitter.