Lee County Elections Office conducting ‘Register to Vote at Work’ program
Local businesses can make it easy for their employees to find the time to register to vote with a program recently reinstated by the Lee County Elections Office.
Election officials have designated September as the “Register to Vote at Work” month. Lee County businesses and government agencies can register to have outreach staff from the Elections Office come to their location and provide voter registration services, as well as help with vote-by-mail requests.
“Our goal is to make voter registration easy and accessible,” Elections Supervisor Sharon Harrington said. “So meeting people at their place of employment is one way to help us achieve our goal.”
According to officials, the Elections Office had previously offered the program.
“But we haven’t done it in several years,” Vicki Collins, a spokeswoman for the office, said.
Under the program, the Elections Office has already partnered with Lee County libraries, the Lee Memorial Health System, Chico’s and local universities and institutions, even a trade show.
However, few private businesses have registered and it is available to them.
“It is an easy and convenient way to provide voter registration for people who work,” Collins said.
“We can do it during lunch hours – whatever is convenient for the business,” she added.
During a voter registration drive, employees can register to vote, as well as update their personal information, change their political affiliation and have access to other such services available through the Lee County Elections Office. Outreach staff can also assist employees with their mail ballots.
She noted that drives set up at private businesses will only be open to employees.
Those scheduled through government agencies, like at the libraries, are open to the public.
“There’s a list of locations on our website of where we’ll be,” Collins said.
Businesses interested in setting up a registration drive can contact Sharon Brandon, the program’s outreach coordinator, at 239-533-6327 or email her at sbrandon@leeelections.com.
Officials urged them to register quickly though.
“Do it as soon as possible,” she said, noting that there are municipal elections Sept. 15.
For additional information on the program, visit: www.leeelections.com.