NYC Votes celebrates National Voter Registration Day by hosting non-partisan voter registration drives and educational events to help voters prepare for the General Election on November 5th. We call on all New Yorkers to make sure they are registered to vote and ready to make their mark on this year's historic elections. The deadline to register to vote in the General Election is October 11.
Volunteers will fan out to the following locations to help New Yorkers register to vote, update their registration, and learn more about the candidates and proposals on the ballot (follow this link for details on times and locations):
- NYC Subway Stations
- City University of New York campuses
- Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) facilities
- Popular Community Bank branches
- Get in the Game and Vote at Yankee Stadium
NALEO Educational Fund and NYC Votes will co-host a community forum to register voters and answer questions about voting rights from 5 PM to 7 PM. Everyone from the community is invited to bring their questions to the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation at 76 Wadsworth Avenue in Washington Heights.
In addition, the following partners will be hosting voter registration drives, providing registration forms to their clients, or sending volunteers into the community to help voters register: Food Bank for New York City, Department of Homeland Security, New York Organ Donor Network, JP Morgan Chase, KPMG, Harlem United, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., NAACP Brooklyn Branch, NAACP NYCHA Branch, and Google.
"On November 5th, New Yorkers will cast a vote that will shape our city for years to come. We need everyone to make their mark on this election and it all starts by making sure everyone is registered to vote," said Onida Coward Mayers, director of voter assistance at the New York City Campaign Finance Board. "NYC Votes will work non-stop to October 11 and beyond to encourage and empower all eligible voters to participate in the political process."
"One in five eligible voters in New York City is Latino," stated Julissa Gutierrez, Director of National Programs and Community Relations, Civic Engagement, NALEO Educational Fund. "We know these numbers equate to real power for the Latino electorate this November, but we have to do our part and show up. That's why we are proud to partner with organizations like NYC Votes and Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation to help eligible citizens register to vote so they can make their voices heard in this year's important municipal elections."
"NYPIRG students are out on college campuses in every borough promoting National Voter Registration Day and registering their peers to vote," said Aileen Sheil, Chairperson of NYPIRG's Student Board of Directors. "With so many important issues affecting students - from student debt to the cost of mass transit - it is critical that their voices are heard in the November election. That's why NYPIRG will continue to register thousands more students to vote between now and the October 11th deadline."
"As a sisterhood called to serve, we are continuously engaged in voter registration and voter education," said Tanya Levy Odom, President, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., East Kings County Alumnae Chapter. "We are happy to partner with NYC Votes to help New Yorkers living in the East New York, Brownsville, Bushwick and Williamsburg sections of Brooklyn to register to vote in the election on November 5th."
NYC Votes also is kicking off of our "1,000 Voter Registration Drives Challenge" to conduct 1,000 drives before the deadline, in collaboration with our many community and corporate partners. Our goal is to ensure that all potential voters in New York City hear our message about the importance of voting and have the opportunity to register.
Finally, NYC Votes encourages everyone to tune in to the debate tonight between the candidates in the Democratic Public Advocate Runoff election. The debate begins at 7 PM on NY1 News, NY1 Noticias, WNYC (radio), and online at the stations' websites.
National Voter Registration Day is a non-partisan, volunteer effort to create widespread awareness of voter registration opportunities through on-the-ground activities, technology and the media.
NYC Votes is the non-partisan voter engagement campaign of the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) and its Voter Assistance Advisory Committee (VAAC). In addition to promoting voter registration, participation, and civic engagement in New York City through its many programs and partnerships, NYC Votes sponsors the city's official Debate Program and produces the citywide Voter Guide.
The New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) is New York State's largest student-directed research and advocacy organization. We are a nonpartisan, not-for-profit group established to effect policy reforms while training students and other New Yorkers to be advocates. Our principal areas of concern are environmental protection, consumer rights, higher education, government reform, voter registration, mass transit and public health.