National Voter Registration Day, 2021

Proclamation 10265 of September 27, 2021

National Voter Registration Day, 2021

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

The right to vote is central to who we are as a Nation
and a people--it defines us as Americans, propels us to
ever-greater progress, and serves as the foundation of
our liberty. Voting provides Americans with a voice in
building the country we want to live in together and
the country we hope to leave to our children and
grandchildren. The right to vote freely and fairly, and
to have our vote counted, is a sacred and fundamental
part of our Nation's character. With it, anything is
possible for America; without it, nothing is.

For our democracy to work, it is up to all of us to
protect the right to vote--and to exercise it. The
first step that all of us can take is to make sure that
we are registered to vote. Each year, National Voter
Registration Day reminds us of our right and our
responsibility, as individual citizens and as one
Nation, to exercise the sacred right to vote and ensure
that our voices are heard.

Through great sacrifice and the courage of generations
of civil rights leaders and activists, we have made
strides to ensure that more Americans are able to take
part in the democratic process. We have repeatedly
amended the Constitution to expand voting access across
our history, and landmark legislation like the Indian
Citizenship Act of 1924 and the Voting Rights Act of
1965 have helped to make those constitutional promises
real and meaningful for more and more of our people.

But this work remains unfinished. Today, the right to
vote is being suppressed and subverted in many parts of
the country by shameful attempts to restrict Americans'
access to the ballot and the rolling back of decades of
voting rights progress. This assault--largely targeting
Americans of color, as such assaults so often have
through the darkest chapters of our history, is an
attack on our democracy, on our liberty, and on who we
are as Americans. As my friend, American hero
Representative John Lewis, reminded us shortly before
he passed, `Democracy is not a state; it is an act.' It
is our shared responsibility to act as one people to
secure the basic promise of American democracy.

My Administration has taken firm and far-reaching
action to expand and protect voting rights. Earlier
this year, I issued an Executive Order to promote
access to voting. This order established a whole-of-
government effort directing Federal agencies to expand
access to voter registration and election information,
especially in some of our most underserved communities.
My Administration also supports Federal legislation to
set basic national standards for fair registration and
voting in Federal elections and to protect against
racial discrimination and the subversion of the
election process. Guaranteeing the right to vote and
ensuring that every vote is counted has always been one
of the most patriotic things we can do, and my
Administration is committed to safeguarding and
strengthening our democracy.

As we observe National Voter Registration Day, I
encourage all eligible Americans to make sure they are
registered to vote--to check their registration status
and ensure that their registration is accurate and up
to date--and to help their neighbors, family, and
friends to do the same. Visit Vote.gov

for more information on how to register to vote. I also
urge policymakers and citizens across the country, of
all parties, to join me in defending, strengthening,
and expanding this paramount constitutional right.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 28,
2021, as National Voter Registration Day. I call on all
Americans to observe this day by ensuring they are
registered to vote, and thereby prepared to stand up
for our democracy and the vitality and integrity of our
elections.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-seventh day of September, in the year of our
Lord two thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence
of the United States of America the two hundred and
forty-sixth.