VOTING ON LOCAL ELECTIONS

YAISA GOMEZ

If you didn’t have the right to vote would you fight for it?

Elections dictate whether I am employed or not.

MY STORY:

*New Jersey Teacher.*Furloughs for state employees.

• Originally under the Constitution, only white male citizens 21 AND OVER were eligible to vote.

• African Americans were give the right to vote under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution.

• Women were give right to vote in1920 under the Nineteenth Amendment.

THE HISTORY BEHIND VOTING

Today, citizens over the age of 18 cannot be denied the right to vote, regardless of race, religion, sex, disability, or sexual orientation.

Here is the Problem…

NJ state voters:

2008 presidential elections 75% of 5.35 million participated

2009 Governor elections 45% of 5.22 million participated

Jersey City has 120,000 registered voters, only about 30,000 voted in the 2009 municipal election. That’s only 25% !!!

Here is the Problem…

NJ state voters:

2008 presidential elections 75% of 5.35 million participated

2009 Governor elections 45% of 5.22 million participated

Jersey City has 120,000 registered voters, only about 30,000 voted in the 2009 municipal election. That’s only 25% !!!

USE YOUR VOICE

THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU STAND FOR AND VOTE

Make a difference. Know what changes you want to see and take action. What issues do you feel strongly about?

What are you angry about?

Worried about?

How will the outcome of the election affect you?

•You Can Decide–You have a voice, so use it and don’t let other people decide for you.

•Its Your Right–People have fought hard their whole lives to vote.– Don’t take the right for granted.

•Representation–Want politicians in office who represent your needs and concerns?

Then vote.

What is important inthe way of educationfor you and your family?

Which programs to fund and which programs get cut?

How the budget is distributed?

How do you feel aboutraising taxes?

City and state government can help or hinder hardworking families trying to raise their children, your vote leads

government in making those decisions.

Voting is your way to state your concerns and beliefs:

Local elections are as important as presidential elections.

Candidates in large elections often start by getting voted into power at lower level.

#3-Thomas Jefferson, Governor of Virginia

#7-Andrew Jackson, Governor of the Florida Territory

#9-William Henry Harrison, Territorial Governor of Indiana

#11-James Knox Polk, Governor of Tennessee

#19-Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Governor of Ohio

#25- William McKinley, Governor of Ohio Theodore

#28- Woodrow Wilson, Governor of New Jersey

#32-Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Governor of New York

#40-Ronald Wilson Reagan, Governor of California

#43-George Walker Bush, Governor of Texas

#5-James Monroe, Governor of Virginia

#8-Martin Van Buren, Governor of New York

#10- John Tyler, Governor of Virginia

#17-Andrew Johnson, Governor of Tennessee

#22-Grover Cleveland, Governor of New York

#26-Roosevelt, Governor of New York

#30-Calvin Coolidge, Governor of Massachusetts

#39-James Earl Carter, Jr., Governor of Georgia

#42-William Jefferson Clinton, Governor of Arkansas

• Every Vote Counts– Votes can get very close

(Governor Election in 2004)

• Democracy. For the people, by the people, of the people.– One person can voice

everyone’s opinions in one larger voice

When you vote, you honor that our ancestors made and that today’s Soldiers make in fighting for our freedom!

You should vote because you can!

The reality is, your vote counts!

It represents your right to freedom of speech

If you don’t vote you really have no right to complain about government decisions you don’t like

(no matter how bad those decisions are)

Voting means you believe in the democratic process

If you are old enough to die for your country, You are old enough to decide who makes the decisions!

Next local Election:Don’t forget it is up to

you to be counted.

DON’T VOTE VOTE

Local government decides local issues. Make sure someone is listening-

“The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and

destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.”

~Lyndon B. Johnson

We are lucky we are to be able to vote. The constitution has been amended in order to provide to right to vote to people just like us. We hold the future of the candidates in our hand. Our lack of votes during elections leads to politicians who can speak for the few that vote. It is up to us to make a difference, use your voice and VOTE.

In final analysis,