CONGRATULATIONS to Amanda Potter (shown right) for winning the $300 prize for LWVNJ-GNBA’s National Voter Registration Day TRIVIA CONTEST! Our statewide, online contest had entrants from 58 municipalities and 16 of NJ’s 21 counties!

Amanda, who lives in Highland Park with her husband and their adorable daughter, works at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. Amanda does her food shopping at her local Stop & Shop in Highland Park. This is where she learned about the contest when she spied our blue flyer posted on the store’s bulletin board. Amanda responded with delight when she was told that she had won the contest. She said that she thought the contest was a great idea and that she never misses voting. Amanda plans to use the $300 to re-upholster a chair. She said she would always think of GNBA when she looks at it.

Much thanks to the members of the NVRD Trivia Contest team: Divya Konduru, Sheila Mazar, Ethel Reid, Ellen Unger, Arielle Del Rosario, and Reggie Musolf (shown left), for providing this opportunity for eligible NJ residents to register or re-register by October 15 in order to vote on November 15 and to inform them about the voting process.

Patricia Walsh and Melonie Marano were running for Somerset County Freeholder.  The other panel was for Somerset County Sheriff, Darrin J. Russo and William Parenti.  Sandy Matsen was the moderator.

Our League trained Middlesex County College (MCC) students to register voters. Thanks to Professor Archer and Arianna Illa, Coordinator of Civic Engagement for their help. We trained students to assist us with voter registration via the use of Kahoot!

The League of Women Voters of the Greater New Brunswick Area spent an evening with Kaitlin Calogera, Founder of A Tour of Her Own. She educated and inspired the audience with stories of women’s history, tourism and social entrepreneurship. What a fabulous adventure in American herstory and culture!

1st Place: Tyler Houchin and Sarah Pacelli

2nd Place: Michelle Tang

3rd Place: Brandon Torres, Brandon Fitzgerald, Tyriana Taylor, and Terrence George

Fair District flyer for October 10

Redistricting Reform for a Fairer New Jersey
Helen Kioukis
LWVNJ Program Associate
Lead organizer of Fair Districts New Jersey 

SPECIAL EVENT:  PUBLIC WELCOME
October 10, 2018, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Highland Park Citizen Center, 220 S. 6^th St., Highland Park 08904

 Redistricting should be impartial and transparent. It should maximize public input in the process and put the power in the hands of the voters, not politicians. Redistricting is happening in 2021. We need to organize now.

Fair Districts New Jersey is a non-partisan coalition led by League of Women Voters of New Jersey fighting to reform New Jersey’s redistricting process. Join LWV Greater New Brunswick Area for a session as Helen Kioukis lays out the problem, offers solutions and calls to action citizens who want to ensure that NJ Legislative Districts are drawn in a way that is transparent, representative and impartial.

Essay and Video Contest with Two $500 Prizes!

Y Vote is an initiative started by The League of Women’s Voters Greater New Brunswick Area to encourage high schools students to consider the importance of voter participation. This contest is ultimately aimed to encase voter participation and civic engagement amongst younger voters as their voices are essential within our democratic process.

Participating High Schools: Watchung Hills Regional, Montgomery Township, Pingry, Bernards High School, Bishop Ahr, Somerville, Metuchen, Highland Park, Bound Brook, Franklin, Bridgewater, J.P. Stevens, Edison, New Brunswick, North Plainfield, Hillsborough

How to Enter:

• Submit either a persuasive essay of up to 500 words or a video of up to three minutes in length focused on inspiring your peer group and others to vote in the coming Congressional Election and in all future elections.
• Entries should be creative, effective and inspirational. They should act as a call to action on the importance of using your vote to influence the direction of our democracy.
• Entries may address particular issues of importance to you as a voter. If you choose, they may include personal narrative elements.
• Entries may not include endorsements or criticisms of particular candidates.
• Essays must be submitted by individual students, but videos may be submitted by either an individual or by a team, including all names who worked on the video.
• Any student in a participating high school in Somerset or Middlesex County, whether or not you will be of voting age this year is eligible to participate

Prizes

Two $500.00 prizes will be awarded, one to the best essay and the other to the best video. If the winning video is submitted by a team, the prize will be shared among the members of the team. Notable nonwinners will be acknowledged with Honorable Mentions.

Submissions of Entries

• Essays must be sent as PDF files to the following email address: YVoteContest2018@gmail.com. They must have a cover page including the author’s Name, Age, Grade, and High School.
• Videos must be uploaded to the contestant’s own YouTube account with an “Unlisted” setting. A link to the video must be sent to the following email address: YVoteContest2018@gmail.com. The email must contain the following information for all members of the team: Name, Age, Grade, and High School.

Important Dates

Last Date for Submission of Entries: October 10, 2018

Announcement of Winners: October 25, 2018

Award Ceremony at Eagleton Institute of Politics: October 26, 2018

T-Shirts

Support this project with your own “Y VOTE” t-shirt featuring the graphic above! They are available for $19.99 at “Gimmee Gimmee Tees” in Somerville, NJ. If you buy 4 shirts, get one free!