[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 129, 114th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9327 of September 21, 2015

National Voter Registration Day, 2015

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

The right to vote is a cornerstone of what it means to be a free people:
It represents the bedrock tenets of equality and civic participation
upon which our Nation was founded. Throughout American history,
courageous patriots of every background and creed have fought to extend
this right to all and to bring our country closer to its highest ideals.
Voting is vital to a principle at the core of our democracy--that men
and women of free will have the capacity to shape their own destinies.
On National Voter Registration Day, we recommit to upholding this belief
by encouraging all eligible Americans to register to vote and exercise
this essential right.
The task of perfecting our Union lies with our citizens, and my
Administration is dedicated to working with people across our country to
empower Americans to play an active part in forging the future we all
share. In that spirit, in 2013 I launched a nonpartisan commission aimed
at fulfilling this task, which issued commonsense suggestions aimed at
improving the voting experience. But government alone can only do so
much. As a Nation, we must commit ourselves to fulfilling the critical
responsibility of participating in our society.
It is up to each individual citizen to exercise the right that so many
struggled to obtain and protect--and when we choose not to do so, we
dishonor those who laid down their lives for it. Our Nation has one of
the lowest voting rates among free societies, and Americans
disenfranchise themselves by disengaging from our political process too
often. Our country is only as strong as the leaders we elect, and the
task of democracy is not theirs alone--it is up to all our people to
build the kind of world we want our children to inherit.
Today, we reaffirm our enduring belief in the democratic process and set
out to fulfill the most sacred and significant duty we have as
Americans: to make our voices heard. On National Voter Registration Day,
let us pay tribute to our legacy of liberty and self-government by reg

[[Page 3436]]

istering to vote and encouraging those around us to join in the work of
bettering our communities. Each of us can exercise the franchise that
defines who we are as a Nation and upholds our belief in a government
that reflects our determined will, our highest hopes, and our utmost
aspirations.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, 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 22, 2015, as
National Voter Registration Day. I call upon all Americans to observe
this day by registering to vote.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of
September, in the year of our Lord two thousand fifteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
fortieth.
BARACK OBAMA