National Voter Registration Day plays key role during presidential election year

It is almost that time when ballot drop boxes will be seen in cities across the country. But before you can vote, you have to register to vote — something which campaigns for the White House are tracking.

In many states across the country, registering to vote early isn't as big of a deal because you can simply register on election day. But that's not the case everywhere, including in many battleground states.

In Georgia and Arizona the voter registration deadline is Oct. 7. In North Carolina the deadline is Oct. 11 if you aren't voting early. And in Pennsylvania the deadline is Oct. 21.

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Voter registration is in focus this week because Tuesday marks National Voter Registration Day. Tom Bonier is with TargetSmart, a group that tracks voter registration data, and he says the unofficial holiday is even more important during presidential election years.

"That is generally one of the biggest spikes in registration that we see throughout any given election cycle," Bonier told Scripps News.

Data compiled from his group shows how much voter registration interest spiked following the Harris-Trump debate and after Taylor Swift's endorsement encouraging people to vote for Harris. Former Ohio congressman and past presidential candidate Tim Ryan talked about the impact Swift's endorsement had in Trump-leaning Youngstown, Ohio.

"About six people walked into the Mahoning County Democratic Party headquarters — separate from each other — saying 'Taylor Swift sent me here to register to vote,'" Ryan said.

Both the Harris and Trump campaigns are tracking who is registering to vote and whether Americans are identifying as Democrat or Republican. For most of this year, TargetSmart data shows Republicans with an advantage over Democrats in terms of the number of people registering to vote.

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However, the data has started shifting since Harris got in the race.

"Democrats have been playing catch up," Bonier said. "And the question is, is there enough time to close that gap?"

He added that Gen Z is registering as unaffiliated voters in larger numbers than past generations. But Bonier said he's also seeing a great divide between young women and young men.

"The Gen Z women are actually becoming more Democratic and progressive in terms of how they're voting, how they're identifying," he said. "Whereas young White men are actually headed in the opposite direction. So you're seeing a bigger gender gap and partisanship."