NYC Votes Announces Plans to Double Youth Voter Turnout and Increase Participation of Naturalized Citizens

09/24/2019

On National Voter Registration Day, NYC Votes announces its plans to dramatically increase youth voter turnout in the 2021 elections and to significantly boost voter participation among naturalized citizens in New York City. To achieve these ambitious goals, NYC Votes is recruiting nonprofits, businesses, and community organizations to participate in its nonpartisan, two-year effort to help these voting populations make their voices heard in city elections.
 
NYC Votes will kick-off these efforts with a series of townhalls for interested organizations beginning on October 10. All interested organizations are encouraged to RSVP at nycvotes.nyccfb.info/partners.

 
Doubling Youth Voter Turnout in 2021
The turnout rate for young voters was only 13.5% in the last mayoral election. NYC Votes aims to double youth turnout in the next mayoral election by launching a citywide youth-centered campaign that will engage young voters through in-person activation points, influencer development, and digital strategies. 
 
We estimate that there will be 1 million active voters in the 18-29 age bracket in 2021. To reach our goal, 250,000 of those voters must cast a ballot in November 2021. The first step in that process is getting more youth voters registered and ready to vote in the 2020 elections.
 
Increase Immigrant Voter Engagement: 20K in 2020
In New York City, 1.7 million people – one out of four citywide – are naturalized citizens. Neighborhoods with large immigrant populations frequently have lower rates of voter participation. Working with community groups in key neighborhoods, NYC Votes will register and engage 20,000 new voters by the end of 2020.
 
NYC Votes will focus particularly on neighborhoods identified in our 2018-2019 Voter Analysis Report that have a large immigrant population and low voter turnout. Those eight communities are: Bensonhurst East, Bensonhurst West, Brighton Beach, and Homecrest in Brooklyn; Elmhurst, Queensborough Hill, Richmond Hill, and South Ozone Park in Queens.
 
NYC Votes will work with community organizations in these and other neighborhoods to provide voting information in the languages and idioms that will be relevant to immigrant communities.
 
"The 2020 presidential election presents us with a fantastic opportunity to reach and empower New Yorkers, especially younger voters and new citizens, to exercise their power by voting," said Eric Friedman, Assistant Executive Director for Public Affairs at the New York City Campaign Finance Board. "Working through our nonpartisan NYC Votes initiative, the CFB will help voters who are underrepresented at the polls to make their voices heard in 2020. Our research shows that higher participation in the presidential election year is the first step to increasing voter turnout in the citywide election that will follow in 2021."
 
“Registering to vote is an important step toward making every voice heard in our democracy. National Voter Registration Day is a great opportunity to get more New Yorkers registered and inform them about the coming elections and the new opportunity to vote early. We applaud all efforts to register youth and newly naturalized citizens,” said Rini Fonseca-Sabune, Chief Democracy Officer, DemocracyNYC, Mayor’s Office.  

“The City University of New York is proud to join forces with NYC Votes to help our students claim their seat at democracy’s table this National Voter Registration Day,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “Today, in order to encourage students to register, events will be held at CUNY campuses around New York City. We applaud NYC Votes for partnering with communities across the City to ensure all New Yorkers register to vote and participate in our elections.”

Eddie Cuesta, Executive Director of Dominicanos USA, said, "It is so important that we increase our communities' voting power in this city. For this National Voter Registration Day, we will target neighborhoods with large populations of naturalized citizens and continue to inform them of the importance of registering to vote and partaking in our city's civic processes. We are committed to advancing civic engagement in our communities and thus promote and ensure democracy in this great nation."

NYC Votes is the nonpartisan voter engagement initiative 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.