CLOSTER, N.J.—The League of Women Voters of Northern Valley (LWVNV) will launch its voters service education campaign with a Voters Service Activities Workshop on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Closter Public Library, located at 280 High St., Closter. The workshop’s program is free and open to the public.
Residents in the 27 municipalities in the League of Women Voters of Northern Valley’s service area are welcome to attend. People interested in becoming more informed voters, seeking to be involved in the electoral process in their local communities, and wanting to find out more about the League’s volunteer opportunities are encouraged to come. Participants may bring a laptop to the webinar. Refreshments will be provided.
The workshop introduces the benefits of using League-moderated Candidate Forums, discusses conducting voter registration drives, explains getting out the vote activities and presents how to create Voter’s Guides. The program features an online training session about using the League of Women Voters Education Fund’s revamped Vote411.org initiative.
Launched in October 2006, Vote411.org offers a unique “one-stop-shop” to provide nonpartisan, state-specific voter information nationwide, resulting in the creation of Voter Guides with information about candidates running for office.
To encourage a healthy and vibrant democracy, the League of Women Voters of New Jersey carries out a range of Voters Service activities, including: registering voters; providing information about polling locations, times, and absentee ballot procedures; operating a toll-free Voters Service hotline; distributing information about candidates running for office by organizing and/or moderating Candidate’s Forums and creating Voter Guides; and explaining ballot measures, such as constitutional amendments, referenda, and bond issues.
The workshop prepares voters with tools, resources, and information to use for the next election on Tuesday, Nov. 5, when they go to the polls to elect representatives in New Jersey’s General Assembly in all 80 seats. Voters also elect municipal offices for the positions of mayor and council, along with some areas holding school board elections.
With New Jersey one of only seven state legislative chambers holding elections in 2019, the League at the state, regional and local levels plans an expansive Voters Service campaign. The League of Women Voters of New Jersey gathers and provides candidate information about Assembly races. The League of Women Voters of Bergen County collects data about County Freeholder races.
To prepare voters for the local elections, the League of Women Voters of Northern Valley provides expanded Voters Service activities to ensure residents are registered to vote, know where to vote and can get to their polling place, and have information about the candidates. Residents living in the LWVNV’s 27 municipalities may get involved to create questions for candidates to answer who are running in municipal and board of education races, especially in towns with competitive elections.
Membership in the League is open to both men and women, who are at least sixteen years of age and supportive of its mission. The League of Women Voters of Northern Valley draws members from these 27 municipalities in Bergen County, New Jersey: Alpine, Bergenfield, Cliffside Park, Closter, Cresskill, Demarest, Dumont, Edgewater, Emerson, Englewood, Englewood Cliffs, Fort Lee, Hackensack, Harrington Park, Haworth, Hillsdale, Leonia, Montvale, New Milford, Northvale, Norwood, Old Tappan, Park Ridge, River Vale, Tenafly, Washington Township and Woodcliff Lake.
For further information about the workshop or to get involved in voter service activities, help register voters, organize or help run a Candidate’s Forum, or create a Voter’s Guide of questions for candidates, contact (201) 947-0756 or lwvno.valley@gmail.com. Learn more about the League on the organization’s website at www.lwvbergen.org.
The League of Women Voters (LWV), a non-partisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of public policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy. The nonprofit organization was an outgrowth of the 19th Amendment passed in 1920 giving women the right to vote. Today, the LWV operates at the state and local levels through more than 700 state and local Leagues in all 50 states and in Washington D.C., the Virgin Islands and Hong Kong.
The League of Women Voters of Northern Valley was founded in 1946 as the League of Women Voters of Closter. By 1964, the chapter expanded to include 11 municipalities in the Northern Valley and was renamed the League of Women Voters of Northern Valley. The organization develops grassroots leadership and achieves widespread credibility because it is strictly nonpartisan. Throughout the year, a range of voters services and programs are provided, including candidates’ forums, registration drives, dissemination of nonpartisan information about candidates and issues, and public meetings to discuss current issues.
Photos courtesy League of Women Voters
