Volunteers use National Voter Registration Day to encourage voters ahead of special election
Gavin Nguyen
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ) – Tuesday marks National Voter Registration Day!
Volunteers are using the occasion to encourage valley residents to register to vote ahead of this year’s special election.
Each year, volunteers at the Mary Pickford Theater encourage passing moviegoers to check their voter registration. Tuesday marks their first day boothing this year.
The organizers of the booth told News Channel 3 that while registering to vote is always important, this year is especially important with Proposition 50 on the ballot.
The proposition, introduced by Gov. Gavin Newsom, asks voters to approve a plan to temporarily redraw California’s congressional districts through 2032. The move comes in response to Republicans in Texas, who approved redrawing their congressional maps.
Becki Robinson is the voter registration coordinator for Courageous Resistance, a nonpartisan activist group in the Coachella Valley. She made it clear to us: regardless of how you plan on voting, she wants to help you register to vote.
“It is very important that we do nonpartisan voter registration,” Robinson explained. “I personally believe that everybody has the right to their own opinion. They have the right to whatever political party they want. They have the right to vote, however it is they want to vote.”
It’s been seven years since Robinson first started tabling inside the Mary Pickford Theater. It’s been so long that the regular moviegoers are familiar with her presence around each election cycle.
Each time a guest walked into the building or toward the exit, Robinson and other volunteers held up signs and asked them a simple question: “Are you registered to vote?”
Most gave thumbs-ups or nodded as they walked past. Others had questions, which the volunteers were happy to answer.
Robinson argued every election is important, but this year’s special election is especially important.
“We are Californians. We need to be sure that our voices are heard. And whatever it is that happens, happens because we voted for it,” Robinson said. “I would prefer to lose with everybody voting than to win with only a fraction of the people voting, because that means I don’t have any support or whatever the issue is, doesn’t have any support.”
Meanwhile, Riverside County is also seeking temporary hires to assist with the special election. More details can be found on the county’s website, found here.
