Mount Vernon — A training session for volunteers who would like to help people register to vote in the fall presidential election will be led by Karla Mahoney, retired outreach director of the Fairfax County registrar’s office, at Mount Vernon Unitarian Church, 1909 Windmill Lane, Alexandria Virginia, Monday Sept. 10 from 7-9 p.m. The event is sponsored by the MVUC Social Justice Council.
The training covers how to conduct a voter registration drive, ways to register (in person or by mail), how to check that the registration form is accurately completed, laws about handling and submission of registration forms, registration deadlines, new voter ID laws, and absentee voting. Voters can also use the registration form for an address or name change. The name and address on a voter’s ID must match the name and address in the poll book on Election Day.
Trainees will be connected with two local organizations that have been running voter registration drives over the summer. Working at shopping centers and the Huntington Metro, they registered 625 voters in Mount Vernon District north of Fort Belvoir during June and July. Voter registration efforts will intensify in the fall through the registration deadline of Oct. 15, thus there is a need for more trained volunteers.
Voters can check whether their registration is current at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/elections. The site also gives the eligibility requirements for early/absentee voting and the dates and hours for in-person absentee voting at the Mount Vernon Government Center on Parker’s Lane beginning October 17. For information on the training contact Mary Paden at mary.paden@gmail.com.