NYC Votes and NYPIRG are pleased to announce having earned first place for our National Voter Registration Day (NVRD) efforts to register eligible voters. Together, we helped to register more than 4,300 New York City residents on NVRD, a single day of coordinated field, technology and media efforts to create pervasive awareness of voter registration opportunities.
NYC Votes, the non-partisan voter engagement campaign of the NYC Campaign Finance Board (CFB), and the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), partnered with local organizations to host over 100 public voter registration drives across the City. Partners included: Care for the Homeless, The City University of New York, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Department of Parks and Recreation, Dominicanos USA, Health Plus, NAACP and the New York Institute of Technology.
Initiatives such as NVRD are particularly important for New York, which lags behind the vast majority of other states in voter participation. Throughout New York State, nearly 2 million citizens of voting age are not registered to vote.
This year NVRD took place on September 22nd. New York City's NVRD celebration kicked off with a conversation on voting rights and the immigrant vote in the 2016 elections at Lincoln Center. The evening featured panels moderated by Fox 5 News Reporter and Hot 97 Talk Show Host, Lisa Evers and a keynote address by Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League.
"We are proud to have led alongside NYPIRG to conduct voter registration, and thrilled to have come in first place on this national day of action. Increasing civic engagement and mobilizing New Yorkers towards the ballot box are at the heart of all of our participating organizations and city agencies. With the 2016 elections on the horizon, we must work together to make sure that no voter is left out," said Onida Coward Mayers,Director of Voter Assistance at CFB.
"We are thrilled to have led best-in-the-nation voter registration efforts alongside NYC Votes on National Voter Registration Day,” said Megan Ahearn, NYPIRG’s Organizing Director. “New Yorkers, including students at CUNY and SUNY campuses, registered in droves – demonstrating to their peers the power they stand to gain by registering to vote.”
Steven Valles, Coalition Director of National Voter Registration Day stated, "Congratulations to NYC Votes/NYPIRG and all of the community partners on registering the most voters of any local event in the country on National Voter Registration Day 2015! They've been enthusiastic partners in our initiative from the start and continue to go above and beyond for this important effort."
“The City University of New York (CUNY) is dedicated to encouraging and facilitating the registration of all of its students. Thanks to all of our colleges that participated in National Voter Registration Day. We will ramp up our efforts at all 24 campuses during the exciting presidential election year ahead,” said Jay Hershenson,Senior Vice Chancellor for University Relations at CUNY.
"As a college with campuses around the globe and with students from dozens of countries, the NYIT community recognizes the privilege of voting and embraces the responsibility of empowering people to use their political voices to affect change," said Amy Bravo, Assistant Dean of Career Services at New York Institute of Technology (NYIT).
"National Voter Registration Day provides a critical burst of energy and attention to our core mission, voter registration, and is a fantastic opportunity to educate the public on the power of voting. We are always pleased to partner with NYC Votes to further this agenda and applaud them on this year’s achievement. We are inspired by their accomplishment! " said Eddie Cuesta, Executive Director of Dominicanos USA.
“Civic engagement is at the heart of any social justice movement,” National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial said. “It’s inspiring to see so many New Yorkers determined to make their voices heard and take charge of steering their communities in a more equitable and positive direction.”
"We at Lincoln Center are beyond proud to be part of New York City’s National Voter Registration Day campaign. We strongly believe in educating our community about our voting rights and to provide them with an opportunity to register," said Jordana Phokompe Director, David Rubenstein Atrium