On Wednesday, May 24, local League representatives met with Lucy Barefoot, Voter Education and Outreach Specialist from the Secretary of State’s office. Lucy told us that the Secretary of State’s office is expanding and adding a new position on civics education, filled by Misha Lujan, who will be another resource for local leagues.

Lucy had recently sent out voter registration forms to local leagues throughout the state, but if more are needed, they can be downloaded here. Many other resources are available at the link as well.  

During the meeting, Lucy walked the audience through the online voter registration (“olvr”) portal. She noted that this website will change over the summer to reflect recent legislation on elections. One new law, effective next year (July 15, 2024), allows the use of the last four digits of a social security number to register to vote. Another new law updated the process for automatic voter registration when getting an enhanced driver’s license of identification card, making it faster and easier.

Lucy also answered many questions from attendees including validation of residency and citizenship. Although the website will change, she assured us that the URL and QR codes for those sites will not change. She explained that there are several different types of social security cards issued and that a card is not necessarily proof of citizenship. Applicants swear to the fact that they are a citizen when registering and there are penalties if it is found to be untrue.

The presentation can be viewed here.