Statement by Voter Assistance Advisory Committee Chair Naomi Zauderer
07/18/2018
We are in the middle of an important election year, which has already produced exciting races and surprising results. New Yorkers voted in the Congressional Primary in June, and now they are looking ahead to the State Primary and General Election in the fall. This means that Campaign Finance Board staff is working every day, through its voter engagement initiative NYC Votes, to engage voters and provide them with the information they need to participate meaningfully in the electoral process.
I testified last month before the New York City Charter Revision Commission about our work strengthening democracy in New York City. The most recent election, June 26th’s Congressional Primary, is a good case study for what that work entails. Our online Voter Guide received more than 94,000 unique visits to its pages between its launch on June 5th and Election Day. It included profiles submitted by candidates on the ballot, a list of contested primaries, district maps, and our “Know Your Vote” feature which collects news stories from all of the races on the ballot.
Our Voter Assistance Unit organized 41 volunteers to call registered voters and encourage them to the polls on Election Day. Over the course of four days, they called more than 8,000 voters, about half of whom had been registered to vote at an NYC Votes event.
We sent election alerts to more than 2,000 subscribers via text and e-mail with information about the election.
Our hub for voting resources, Voting.NYC, continued to connect New Yorkers with everything they need to register to vote and cast an informed ballot, from voter registration forms translated into 15 languages, to information about voting rights and how to vote, a poll site locator and our Voter Guide.
The NYC Votes team will continue this important work every day to help New Yorkers participate in the rest of the elections this year. So, I will conclude with reminding everyone of the important election dates for this year.
The state primary election will be held on Thursday, September 13, not a Tuesday, as usual. National Voter Registration Day will be held on September 25. And the general election will be on November 6th.