Volunteers work to get voters registered for November election

MILWAUKEE -- There are just 41 days to go until election day, and there's a new push to get voters to the polls on November 6th. State election officials are predicting 70% of eligible voters to turn out to the polls. There is a city-wide effort to get every eligible voter registered to vote and pumped up for the election.

On Tuesday, community leaders and members of the Milwaukee Inner-City Congregations Allied for Hope, or MICAH, kicked off National Voter Registration Day -- stressing the importance of casting a ballot, specifically among African-Americans.  It’s a group they say is underrepresented at the polls.

“We have power in our community when we vote and we hold our elected officials accountable to their votes,” Mike Wilder, African-American Roundtable Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin said.

To engage voters, volunteers are going the non-traditional route -- stopping at places like health centers, corner stores and barber shops to reach out to people who have either recently moved, voted only in 2008, or never voted before.

“I think it's important and more people need to get out to vote,” Special Hicks, who registered to vote in her first presidential election.

Colleges across the area, including UW-Milwaukee held voter registration drives to encourage people to register.

Organizers say in a battleground state like Wisconsin, the race could be decided by how many turn out to vote.

“We're not going out and telling people who to vote for, but we're telling them their vote is important.  We're telling them their vote needs to be counted at the ballot box,” Wilder said.

Eligible voters have through Election Day, November 6th, to register.  As a reminder, a photo ID is not required.

To check whether you have registered to vote or to find out where to vote, the Government Accountability Board created a new website, myvote.wi.gov.