NJPIRG Students Host Virtual Voter Registration Event

Following NJ online voter registration passage, the New Voters Project aims to register students

New Brunswick — Following the launch of online voter registration on Friday, NJPIRG Students hosted a “Registration Staycation” event to help register students to vote virtually. The event Thursday was part of the New Voters Project, a non-partisan, youth voter engagement effort of the NJPIRG Students Chapters. It took place on a webinar streamed for students at the Rutgers New Brunswick, Newark, and Camden campuses as well as Montclair State University. Student coordinators with NJPIRG guided their peers to the online voter registration tool StudentVote.org. Students celebrated the launch of online voter registration in New Jersey and were encouraged to contact their friends to register to vote as well.

“As the largest and most diverse generation, young people could have a significant impact in the November election, said Nila Manners, Rutgers New Brunswick class of 2021 and New Voters Project Campaign Coordinator. “ That’s why we’re encouraging our peers to get registered, get mobilized, and turn out to vote. Virtual learning and social distancing have made a lot of things more challenging, but online voter registration means any eligible voter can instantly update their registration from the safety of their own home..”

The “registration staycation” was one of many virtual panels and educational events put on by NJPIRG Students to educate their peers and ensure that all students have access to the tools they need to register and cast their vote. Volunteers are also partnering with the student government, the office of student affairs, and other student organizations on campus to reach students through email, phone, text, and social media to make sure everyone’s voter registration is up to date and they’re ready to vote in November.

“Students want to be involved; they just need the right tools,” said Kavya Srivatsa, NJPIRG Students Statewide Board Chair, and Rutgers New Brunswick class of 2021. “The launch of online voter registration in our state is a crucial step towards making elections more accessible to young people. Through events like this, we can share our voter registration tool and students can get their friends involved.”

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NJPIRG Students is a statewide, student-funded and student-directed, nonpartisan group with chapters on college campuses. Combining student enthusiasm with professional staff and expertise, we run campaigns to protect the environment and public health, increase youth voter participation, and make textbooks more affordable.

The Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project is the largest nonpartisan youth voter mobilization efforts in the country, running peer-to-peer student voter drives to turn out the youth vote on college campuses for more than 30 years. Its philosophy is that the full participation of young people in the political process is essential to a truly representative, vibrant democracy. The New Voters Project does not endorse, either explicitly or implicitly, a political candidate or political party for elected office.