Volunteers take to the streets to get Arizonans registered to vote

TEMPE, AZ - Every big election year, there's a surge of get-out-the-vote campaigns. For the first time ever those efforts are happening across the country on the same day.

Tuesday is National Voter Registration Day and Arizona is getting in on it.

According to the website, more than 10 groups within the greater Phoenix area are trying to get folks signed up, including Headcount in Tempe.

Headcount stages voter registration drives in conjunction with concerts. The group will be walking Mill Avenue ahead of a concert at the Marquee Theater Tuesday night.

There is likely going to be a big push in Arizona because leading up to this year's primary election, voter registration numbers were down at one point by 45,000 people.

Volunteers are trying to make the process quick and easy on Tuesday and they're trying to catch folks on their way to work, on campus, shopping or eating.

They're also helping people get on the permanent early voting list.

You can skip the groups on Tuesday and register by going online  or find a list of group and volunteers trying to get the word out across the area.

Arizonans have until October 9, 2012 to register if they want to vote for our next president.

Looking back at the last presidential election, 64 percent of eligible people voted in our country, about the same amount as the 2004 election. But in Arizona, 59.9 percent of people voted in 2008, down about 4 percent from 2004. The goal of National Voter Registration day is to get those numbers up.

Check to see if you're registered to vote on the Maricopa County website.

You can also request a form from the county recorders office  and mail it in.