New Jersey advocacy group works to get young people interested in voting

Some New Jersey college students are pulling out all the stops to get their peers to vote in the upcoming election.

News 12 Staff

Nov 3, 2020, 3:08 AM

Updated 1,514 days ago

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Some New Jersey college students are pulling out all the stops to get their peers to vote in the upcoming election.
Students involved with New Jersey Public Research Interest Group (NJPIRG) are making sure that none of their peers are left behind.
“We are the largest and most diverse group of potential voters in the entire country,” says NJPIRG campus coordinator Melanie Egas.
The group says that their mission is to increase youth voter turnout.
“Calling as many students as possible. Really reinforcing that they have a plan to vote safely. They need to go to the polls, they need to know where the ballot drop boxes are at. That they have rides to the polls,” says NJPIRG state board vice chair Oriana Holmes-Price.
The group is also making sure the young voters know what it takes to vote and what is on the ballot. They say that they are determined to make a difference.
“I was able to register [a voter] as well as her family to vote. And to me, that was very important and very special because she explained to me how difficult it is being an immigrant in this country, not speaking English and especially now with the pandemic,” Egas says.
Holmes-Price says that young voters have always been at the forefront of political movements.
“This is just one more opportunity for us to really capitalize on youth empowerment right now,” she says.
The organization is hosting a "virtual party at the polls" phone bank to help clear up any last-minute doubts young voters may have.