NASHVILLE, Tenn. – During National Voter Registration Month, Secretary of State Tre Hargett’s office is leading voter registration efforts in Tennessee with its 2022 Tennessee College Voter Registration Competition, Ann Dallas Dudley Award and Your Vote Matters program.

“Twenty years ago, Secretaries of State from across the nation established National Voter Registration Month,” said Secretary Hargett. “During September and throughout the year, my office is leading the effort to help all eligible Tennesseans get registered to vote. We are doing that by working with colleges, universities, high schools, businesses and other organizations to make sure everyone knows that it has never been easier to register or cast a ballot in Tennessee.”

This month, all 2- and 4-year colleges and universities in Tennessee are invited to participate in the Secretary of State’s 2022 Tennessee College Voter Registration Competition. Schools will compete by creating a voter registration campaign for their campus, promoting voter registration on social media and registering students to vote.

To promote voter registration among Tennessee high school students, the Secretary of State launched the Anne Dallas Dudley Award in 2021. This award, named in honor of suffragist Anne Dallas Dudley, recognizes Tennessee high schools which register at least 85% of eligible students to vote. In its first year, 36 high schools earned Anne Dallas Dudley Awards. This year, the Secretary of State’s office is working with all 95 county election commissions to build on this momentum and encourage every eligible high school student to register to vote.

Through its civics engagement programs, the Secretary of State’s office helps prepare Tennessee students to successfully vote as adults. This fall, students are getting firsthand experience casting a ballot through the 2022 Tennessee Student Mock Election and making their voices heard in the 2022 Civics Essay Contest. The Secretary of State also offers free lesson plans created by Tennessee teachers to help schools incorporate civic engagement and citizenship into their curriculum. Learn more about the Secretary of State’s civic engagement education efforts at sos.tn.gov/civics.

The Secretary of State’s office is Tennessee’s trusted source for accurate election information. Through its Your Vote Matters program, the Secretary of State’s office provides businesses, churches, nonprofit organizations and schools across the state with accurate voter registration and election information that they can share with their employees, customers and communities.

There are currently more than 500 Your Vote Matters program participants, including AARP Tennessee, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Home Depot, Memphis Grizzlies, Nashville Predators, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Tennessee Credit Union League, United Ways of Tennessee and Volkswagen Group of America Chattanooga Operations, LLC. Any Tennessee business or organization can join Your Vote Matters by registering on GoVoteTN.gov.

“Making it easy for Tennesseans to register and cast their ballot while protecting the integrity of our elections is our highest priority,” said Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins. “Every day our office and the election officials in all 95 counties are working together to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat in Tennessee.”

The Secretary of State’s office works with county election officials across the state to ensure Tennesseans can trust the integrity of the ballot box. Tennessee is ranked number one in the nation for election security by the Heritage Foundation. Because of the election laws passed by the Tennessee General Assembly, in Tennessee, every eligible voter’s ballot is counted once and only once.

Registering to vote, updating your address or checking your registration status is fast, easy and secure with the Secretary of State's online voter registration system, GoVoteTN.gov. Using a computer, phone or tablet, any U.S. citizen with a driver's license or a photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security can register in minutes. A paper voter registration application is also available to download at GoVoteTN.gov.

National Voter Registration Month is a nonpartisan effort encouraging all eligible voters to register and participate in the electoral process. For the latest details about the Secretary of State’s National Voter Registration Month activities, follow their 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.