Tomorrow (September 22), The Source will be dedicating the front of our office to voter registration between the hours of 12 and 2 p.m. As the 2016 election creeps up upon us, we would like all members of our community, especially our young people who are eligible to vote for the first time, to come out and make sure and take advantage of their right to help decide our nation’s next leader, along with several holders of important elected positions. Below is the official release, courtesy of NYC Votes.
NATIONAL EFFORT TO REGISTER ALL ELIGIBLE VOTERS
NYC Votes Joins with Partners to Help Register New Yorkers on National Voter Registration Day
September 16, 2015 — National Voter Registration Day (NVRD) is next Tuesday, September 22nd. NYC Votes announces public performances, panel discussions and voter registration drives throughout New York City for the 2015 celebration of NVRD.
On Monday, September 21st, NYC Votes is kicking off NVRD, a day early, with a conversation on voting rights and the immigrant vote in the 2016 elections at Lincoln Center. The evening will feature two panels moderated by Fox 5 News Reporter and Hot 97 Talk Show Host, Lisa Evers. The panelists are Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League, L. Joy Williams, President of the NAACP’s Brooklyn Chapter, Steven Choi, Executive Director of the NY Immigrant Coalition, and Jaime Estades, Director of Latino Leadership Institute. Attendees can also look forward to a performance by NYC’s 2015 Youth Poet Laureate, Crystal Valentine. More information about the kick off is available here. RSVP for the event here.
Eligible New Yorkers will have the opportunity to register to vote at dozens of public registration drives across the City on and before September 22nd. Scheduled drives and their locations are listed in our calendar. This year, NYC Votes is working with 30 groups to host more than 100 public registration drives. Partners include: New York Institute of Technology, New York Public Interest Research Group, Care for the Homeless, The Source Magazine, City University of New York, Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Health Plus, and the NAACP. In addition, partner JP Morgan Chase will be holding voter registration drives in private buildings.
New York City’s NVRD celebration will end with a performance of ” When Truth is not Enough,” a play about voter suppression. The play, written by Susan Charlotte and directed byAntony Marsellis, will take place on Tuesday, September 22nd at 6:00 pm at 125 Worth Street, 2nd floor auditorium. Call (646) 366-9340 for more information.
“National Voter Registration Day is an opportunity for New Yorkers to register to vote, and to celebrate that they are voters,” said Onida Coward Mayers, director of the Voter’s Assistance Unit. “Only 81% of NYC’s eligible voting age population is registered to vote, and just 20% of eligible voters actually voted in 2014. NVRD is about increasing those numbers and invigorating the voting population. Our democracy, after all, is only as strong as its participants.”
“The vote is the most precious right we have as Americans,” said Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League. “Our brothers and sisters died to secure and defend that right, and we have a solemn responsibility to honor their legacy by making our voices heard.”
Register to vote at an upcoming registration drive and encourage your family and friends to do the same. Track the NYC coalition NVRD efforts by following NYC Votes on Twitter and Facebook. New Yorkers can add their voices to the national registration movement by using the #CelebrateNVRD hashtag.
