On Tuesday, September 25, NYC Votes! will host its first-ever Youth Voter Registration Jam featuring Rosario Dawson, actress and chairperson of Voto Latino, who will urge young New Yorkers to make their voices heard at the polls. Hot 97 will provide live music and spoken word performances, hosted by DJ Spynfo and DJ Wallah, and New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott will encourage young people to register to vote in this year's important election.
This free, public event will be held on the Quad Field of Lehman College in the Bronx from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. The program will include giveaways, contests and a discussion highlighting the importance of voting. Representatives from NYC Votes! will be on hand to answer questions about voting and to encourage New Yorkers who are 18 and U.S. citizens to fill out voter registration forms.
The Youth Voter Registration Jam is the NYC Votes! signature event celebrating National Voter Registration Day. A full listing of NYC Votes! registration drives across the city on Tuesday is available here. The Youth Voter Registration Jam is co-sponsored by Hot 97, Voto Latino, the City University of New York, the New York City Department of Education, the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, Rock the Vote, Universal Republic Records and the New York City Board of Elections.
"Young people are the future of our democracy. It is so important for young people in all five boroughs who are eligible to get registered and make their voices heard at the polls in November," said Onida Coward Mayers, Director of Voter Assistance at the New York City Campaign Finance Board. "We encourage all young New Yorkers to come out to Lehman College to learn about voting and get involved!"
“Tomorrow is National Voter Registration Day, and our students who are 18 years old are encouraged to register to vote and participate in the democratic process,” Chancellor Walcott said. “These students are an important voice and can effect change.”
“By engaging nonprofits not usually involved in voter registration drives and amplifying existing drives through event-based recruitment and cultural outreach, National Voter Registration Day will bring additional volunteers and voters into the field just when we need them most,” explains Maria Teresa Kumar, CEO and President of Voto Latino. “By utilizing new technology and working with a variety of partners, we’ll educate more Americans than ever before, bringing new voters into the fold, put our differences aside and celebrate the rights that unite us as Americans.”
"HOT 97's Hip Hop Votes 2012 initiative aims to encourage and empower young people to participate in the American political process by exercising their right to vote. By partnering with NYCVotes! at the Youth Voter Registration Jam, we want to encourage the hip hop community to register, then vote for their future," says Donyshia Benjamin, Marketing Director of Emmis New York.
The deadline to register to vote in the November 6 general election is Friday, October 12. New Yorkers can now register to vote online if they have an ID issued by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Forms to register by U.S. mail are available here.
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.