As of September 1st 2017, Guthrie County is expected to have the lowest amount of registered voters recorded in a year since 2001. Guthrie County is on pace to record 7,600 registered voters, about 400 below average. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is hoping the numbers can increase, especially on National Voter Registration Day today.

The Iowa State Department offers several helpful ways to register to vote. Pate says the most valuable of these tools are the online registration forms. Pate’s team has also launched MyIowaVote, a text/email notification alert system. The system notifies registered voters of the dates, times, and locations for voting in any given area. Pate is extremely pleased with the reception of the program, especially among young people. “When we launched MyIowaVote during the last presidential election, we launched it on the college campuses and it was a smashing success. We had well over 1,000 people sign up for it. Now we’re trying to encourage other Iowans to do the same thing.”

For new residents, Pate says the easiest way to register is to complete the registration while transferring drivers licenses. However eligible voters can also register on the day of the election, or through any of the other online forms. For more information, visit the County Auditor’s office or visit their website, sos.iowa.gov.