John, your vote matters. But if you aren’t registered, you won’t be able to vote.

Everything you care about as educators, healthcare practitioners, public employees and retirees hangs in the balance this year. And the contrast between the candidates is stark: The Sept. 10 debate made that clear.

You need to be registered to vote. Today is National Voter Registration Day. Please take five minutes to check your voter registration status—and to register to vote if you haven’t already.

The AFT has endorsed Kamala Harris for president and Tim Walz for vice president because they are fighting for all of us not just to get by but to get ahead. Harris and Walz want to make life better for working people by improving access to great public schools and creating pathways to college and good union jobs straight out of high school. They are working to increase access to housing and healthcare, take on medical debt and price gouging, strengthen Social Security and Medicare, and ensure freedoms like reproductive healthcare and the right to organize. And they are committed to making our schools and streets safer by tackling gun violence.

But they need to get elected first. Click here and confirm that you’re registered to vote, and then make a plan to vote.

We cannot allow extremists like Donald Trump and JD Vance to drag us backward after all the progress we’ve made together. This election is going to be close. It’s up to us to show up at the polls and to ensure our loved ones and neighbors turn out to vote as well.

Please take a few minutes to confirm that you’re registered to vote here, and share the link with your friends and family so they can make sure they are too.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President