New Jersey Youth Vote - Quick Facts
- In 2006, 218,000 18-29 year olds voted in New Jersey, an increase of 62,000 voters or 5 percent over 2002 turnout.
- In 2004, 51 percent of 18-29 year olds in New Jersey voted in the Presidential election.
- Twenty-four percent of New Jersey’s 18-29 year old citizens are Latino, up from 13 percent in 2002.
- An estimated 486,000 18-29 year olds in Northern New Jersey, Long Island and New York voted in 2006 – of which 19 percent were Latino, 13 percent African-American and 22 percent Asian-American.
Source: Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement
NJPIRG Student Chapters Youth Voter Mobilization Leaders
Andrea Matthews, Rutgers University (Camden)
Andrea is working this spring to make candidates pay
attention to young people, by registering students to vote, getting out the
youth vote for the presidential primaries, and setting the stage for the
biggest election ever this November. She is organizing a big campus rock
the vote type of event this April to get students excited about the coming
election. Andrea has been getting out the youth vote by organizing
educational events since the 2004 presidential election.
Rosaria Matos, Rutgers University Junior (New Brunswick)
Rosaria has been a leader in organizing students to work on student driven political campaigns to register young voters, stop global warming, and alleviate student debt. She’s working on NJPIRG’s What’s Your Plan? campaign to make sure that the candidates pay attention to young people and their issues in 2008, and to make sure that her peers are registering to vote. Rosario has testified before the U.S. Department of Education on student debt. She also worked with other students in New Jersey to compile a ‘Student Debt Yearbook’ highlighting the stories of students across the state who are facing big debt burdens. Rosario is the Treasurer of NJPIRG’s Student Chapters.
Sarah Clader, 21, Rutgers University Senior (New Brunswick)
This fall Sarah, spearheaded efforts to register 3,000 students statewide to vote, training students to make class presentations, run dorm storms, and register their peers out on campus. Sarah also coordinated NJPIRG’s What's Your Plan? campaign at Rutgers, taking the concerns of young people directly to the candidates. She organized students to attend a Barack Obama event in New York City to ask him: What’s Your Plan? to stop global warming and address financial security for Americans. Sarah has led efforts to register and turnout young voters with NJPIRG since her freshman year and she serves on the Student PIRGs' New Voters Project Advisory Committee alongside Frank Fahrnekopf, Jr., former RNC Chair, and Vice President Walter Mondale.
Alessandra Ducasse, 19, Rutgers University Sophomore (Newark)
Since the beginning of her freshman year Alessandra has been involved with New Jersey PIRG in the efforts to increase youth voting. During the 2007 fall semester she worked to help register over 500 students to vote, on the Rutgers Newark Campus. Alessandra believes in the importance of educating students on issues such as global warming. And also believes that youth voters are capable of having a large impact in the up and coming elections.