For Immediate Release
Press contacts:
Catherine McMullen, Voter Education and Outreach Specialist, 503.988.9764
Jay LeVitre, Animal Services Development & Communications Coordinator, 503.988.6232
Multnomah County Elections and Animal Services Urging Community to #PawstoVote through Pet Photo Contest to Promote Voter Registration
(Portland, OR) - Pets reign supreme on the internet and in our community. With the upcoming election in November and the urgency for voters to register before October 18th, Multnomah County Elections is collaborating with Multnomah County Animal Services (MCAS), and asking you to spread the word about voter registration by posting photos of your pets to Instagram with the hashtag #pawstovote.
The #pawstovote Instagram photo contest will be held from Tuesday, September 6 through Sunday, September 11. Public Instagram photos of pets with the hashtag #pawstovote will be entered into a photo contest based on likes. The winner’s pet will be used as the “spokespet” for the Paws to Vote Campaign, which will feature the winning photo in publications and media raising awareness about how to be an informed and successful voter, update voter registration, register to vote before the October 18 deadline, and how to obtain a replacement ballot if the original is damaged or lost. The “spokespet” will also have opportunities to appear with members of the media and other honors associated with winning the photo contest.
Multnomah County Elections staff will be onsite at Multnomah County Animal Services to answer questions and help attendees register to vote while they visit with adoptable pets on National Voter Registration Day, Tuesday, September 27, from 12 to 7 pm. Just as being an informed voter is important to citizenship in the community and in our nation, adopting and licensing pets is an important part of being a responsible pet owner. There will be a Paws to Vote Adoption Special on National Voter Registration Day, featuring waived adoption fees for cats 6 months and older, and 20 percent off dog adoption fees.
Learn more about the Paws to Vote Campaign at multco.us/elections/pawstovote
About Multnomah County Elections: Multnomah County Elections conducts all elections for county residents from local school board positions to the President of the United States. This includes registering voters, mailing, accepting, processing, and counting ballots, releasing results and providing assistance to voters with disabilities and voters needing language assistance. Multnomah County Elections works to ensure every voice is heard.
About Multnomah County Animal Services (MCAS): Multnomah County Animal Services cares for approximately 6,000 animals each year, 100 percent of which are from the local community. As the only open admission shelter in Portland, Multnomah County Animal Services is a national leader with record-high save rates. In order to sustain our success in saving the lives of local animals, Animal Services relies on the Portland community to adopt, foster, volunteer, license their pets, and donate.
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