Cookeville-Putnam County’s NAACP will be knocking on doors in the West End neighborhood Saturday to help people get registered to vote.
Branch President Tom Savage said it should be easy to vote and to register to vote in America, particularly for African Americans and other people of color. He said because it’s only been about 60 years since African Americans gained the right to vote, it’s important to take advantage of every opportunity.
“We haven’t been participating that long and that’s one way that we can show we’re participating in this great government that we have,” Savage said. “And also to know that your vote can make a difference.”
Savage said volunteers will get an assessment of households to see if they’re registered to vote. If not, he said volunteers will be able to register them on the spot if they have a government-issued I.D.
Savage said they also plan on educating voters about two important constitutional amendments on the ballot for the November election. He said one abolishes language in the state Constitution that permits slavery. Savage said the other revolves around the state’s “Right to Work” law into the state constitution.
“And it’s not necessary for it to be there because we have the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 that gives people the right to be in a union or not be in a union,” Savage said. “So there’s no need for it to be in the Tennessee constitution. We believe that unions are mechanisms where people can advance in the work place without discrimination.”
Volunteers will meet at McClellan Avenue Church of Christ at 9 a.m. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., volunteers will go door to door to speak to residents of the West End neighborhood.
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