Sept. 17 is National Voter Registration Day. While voters still have over a month to register (Oct. 21 is the Pennsylvania deadline), the day brings awareness to the upcoming deadline, especially for young people who may be voting in their first election this fall.
Sept. 17 also marks Constitution Day, recognizing the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. On this date in 1787 in Philadelphia, the 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, including Penn founder Benjamin Franklin, signed the Constitution in the Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House, now Independence Hall.
The date also signifies Citizenship Day, celebrating people who have become naturalized U.S. citizens.
Campus-wide, nonpartisan events acknowledge this day. Penn’s Office of Government and Community Affairs will be in front of the LOVE statue from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. registering voters, answering questions about voting, and giving away pocket-sized copies of the Constitution.
The Penn Bookstore will have a special Constitution Day-themed book display, and the Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics is hosting Constitution Day-themed events: “A Conversation With Ms. Opal Lee: Juneteenth and the Constitution,” a webinar exploring the themes of freedom, equality, and storytelling at noon, and a live-stream of the historical documentary “The Eighth Amendment: Cruel and Unusual Punishment” at Eastern State Penitentiary at 2 p.m.
On Sept. 18, the School of Nursing will launch “Nurses for the Vote, Chart the Future,” a partnership with the Office of Government and Community Affairs aimed at increasing voter registration and civic engagement among students and the community. Students will receive training on the Vote-ER platform, as well as additional tools and digital assets to engage with the community and help them register.
As part of an election series presented this fall by the SNF Paideia Program, Fox Leadership, PORES, and the Red & Blue Exchange two events will be offered this month. The first on Sept. 20 is Polling at a Crossroads at Fox-Fels Hall at noon. And on Sept. 23 in a program co-sponsored by the SNF Paideia Program, Penn Libraries, and the Costa Family Building Bridges Fund, Matthew Levendusky will lead a lunch workshop on “How to Talk About Politics Even When You Disagree” at noon in the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library, Kislak Center.
Following are some statistics leading up to election day.
