During this past year, you may have made your first nervous call to a legislator, shown up at a rally and promised to not keep silent about issues important to you. At NCJW/Essex, we have continued to raise our voices about some of the issues we care about: women’s access to reproductive health care, gun safety, voting rights, and economic equality for the most vulnerable — to name just a few. However, it’s easy to let our advocacy slip away as we go about our busy lives. How do we keep up the pressure?
The answer is to VOTE. Election Day is a chance to reinvigorate yourself with a trip to the polls and to exercise your most fundamental right as an American citizen — the right to vote. This November 7th, all statewide NJ elected offices, including Governor and Lt. Governor, are up for election. Unfortunately, turnout for NJ non-presidential elections is dismally low — only 20.8% of eligible voters showed up to vote in 2015.
Do you have friends and family members who aren’t registered to vote? Keep voter registration forms handy to encourage them to register — you can even offer to help fill it out and drop it in the mail! Remember — the deadline to register to vote is October 17th. Use social media in a respectful way to remind your contacts to get out on Election Day. And when you head out the door to cast your vote, call some friends and make a carpool!
Remember, November 7th is your chance to speak up with your strongest voice — your VOTE.
Visit www.njelections.org to obtain voter registration and vote by mail applications.