October 8, 2004

Members of the Portland Trail Blazers will be registering to vote on Monday, October 11 and urging others in the community who have not yet done so to turn in their completed voter registration forms before the deadline on Tuesday, October 12. Director of Player Programs and Trail Blazers alumni, Darnell Valentine and center Theo Ratliff will lead their team members in registering and talk about the importance of participating in the election process.

With the assistance of the Oregon Bus Project, the team and staff will register on Monday, October 11 at 1:00 p.m. at the Blazers practice facility located at 7325 SW Childs Road in Portland. The Oregon Bus Project is a volunteer driven, grassroots 501(c)4 non-profit whose mission is to Engage citizens in the political process, Educate Oregonians about pressing legislative issues in Oregon and beyond, and Elect progressive candidates to the Oregon legislature.

Voter registration forms will be accepted throughout the state of Oregon until Tuesday, October 12. Registration forms must be turned into the county elections office by 5:00 p.m. on October 12th, or postmarked by October 12th in order to be eligible to vote for the November 2, 2004 election. A photocopy of identification is only required if you register by mail and you are a new registrant within your respected county. Identification is not required for updates within the same county or new registrations delivered in person or by means other than mail.

Oregon's progressive voter registration laws regard United States citizens who will be at least 18 years old on November 2, 2004, eligible to vote. Oregonians can register to vote 20 days before they become US citizens.

Voters Wanted is a non-partisan voter registration project in partnership with the Bus Project and the Hip Hop Voter Drive, whose mission was to register 6,000 new voters in the Oregon counties of Marion, Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington, Jackson and Lane. To date, the program has registered 6,581 voters.