Maker:L,Date:2017-8-24,Ver:5,Lens:Kan03,Act:Kan02,E-Y
Nearly 5,000 new voters are now eligible to have their voice heard at the ballot box on November 6, as the #MyVoiceMyVoteNJ voter registration campaign successfully added voters to the rolls at some 75 high schools throughout New Jersey.
Spurred by the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and the many unspeakable acts involving gun violence across the country in our recent past, the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, the League and Women Voters of New Jersey, and the NJ Social Students Supervisors Association teamed up to organize these drives prior to the primary election in June and the general election this November so that students who were demanding a new direction with regard to school safety could be heard.
Daniel Higgins, NJPSA director of strategic communications, coordinated the effort for NJPSA. “We were so pleased to have so many schools from 19 of the state’s 21 counties involved. It showed that students throughout the state had similar concerns and were determined to get involved in a meaningful way,” said Higgins. “The League of Women Voters and the NJ Social Studies Supervisors Association were extremely helpful in assisting these schools with their drives and in helping to spread the word so that many schools would participate.”
All of the schools that participated received a #MyVoiceMyVoteNJ banner to display, and the students who registered were given special wristbands as a gift and as a reminder to vote on Election Day. “The wristbands were especially popular, according to the reports we received from many of the schools that participated,” said Higgins. “More importantly, I was heartened to hear that many students had already registered to vote, mostly as they obtained their drivers licenses. It doesn’t matter to us where or when they register, as long as they do and as long as they vote.”
NJPSA would like to remind all members to vote on Election Day. There is certainly a great deal at stake in this midterm election, with 35 U.S. Senate seats, all 435 House seats, and control for both houses up for grabs. For more information on this year’s election, as well as resources and information on candidates and public questions click on the NJPSA Election Center.