If you want to cast a vote in the Nov. 4 presidential election, make sure you are registered now. Oct. 15 is the deadline for registering. It is already too late to register for Tuesday’s primary election.
To register, you must be a US citizen, live in Massachusetts and be at least 18 years old. There are no other requirements.
For more information, see the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s Office web site at www.sec.state.ma.us/ele, or call 1-800-462-8683.
Jamaica Plain voter registration is getting a boost from the “Vote for Me!” youth campaign. It is a program of the Coalition to Educate, Mobilize and Vote (CEMV), a joint effort by the Hyde Square Task Force and the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation.
CEMV has done non-partisan voter registration work for years. But “Vote for Me!” is putting more focus on youth organizers, who are largely running the get-out-the-vote effort themselves. The basic idea is encouraging adults to vote on behalf of teens who can’t. The campaign has no particular agenda in mind, but is a reminder to adults that their democratic decisions affect the lives of the city’s kids.
The campaign is also intended to develop the youths into leaders—possibly even candidates for office one day.
“Vote for Me!” youths turned out in force at the Sept. 4 candidate forum at English High, and got both local state Senate candidates to commit to supporting full sex education and “wellness” programs in public schools.
“Vote for Me!” youths have already knocked on more than 1,500 doors and registered more than 125 new voters. They can provide any resident with information on how to register and how to vote. They can even arrange a ride to the polls on both Sept. 16 and Nov. 4.
For more information, call 524-8303 ext. 314.
Another local election tradition is state Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez’s voter survey on hot-button issues. The survey gives him food for thought as he formulates policies. Sánchez used to hand out printed copies of the survey at local polling places during primary elections.
This year, he’s going electronic. The survey is posted online at http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2csteq8fko4txg3/start. In the likely event residents don’t want to type in that massive URL, see the JamaicaPlainGazette.com version of this story and just click on the link. Hard copies are still available by calling 722-2370.
Links:
* Election information: www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleidx.htm
and www.cityofboston.gov/elections
Rep. Sanchez’s survey: http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2csteq8fko4txg3/start
John Ruch