7TH ANNUAL NEW JERSEY BALLOT BOWL COMPETITION KICKS OFF

Statewide Non-Partisan Voter Registration Competition Runs Through Election Day

TRENTON, NJ - Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way is celebrating New Jersey college students who are doing their part to encourage voter registration through the 7th Annual New Jersey Ballot Bowl competition, which kicks off September 3, 2024.

The New Jersey Ballot Bowl is an annual statewide non-partisan voter registration and engagement competition, established by Lieutenant Governor Way in her capacity as New Jersey Secretary of State, in which she serves as New Jersey's chief election official. Since the Ballot Bowl's establishment, thousands of New Jersey college students have helped their classmates register to vote and participate in our elections.

Collegiate-based teams compete within competitive conferences based upon campus size to see who can register the most voters and obtain the most commitments to vote. Each year, young people across New Jersey participate and help their peers on campus, as well as people in the surrounding communities, become New Jersey voters. The competition ends on Election Day, November 5, 2024.

"Ballot Bowl is one of my favorite events annually because it's such a great example of young voters getting enthusiastically involved in our democracy," said Lieutenant Governor Way. "Each year, we see students across New Jersey join their campus Ballot Bowl team to help their classmates register to vote and participate in our elections. It's the best kind of competition because it really makes an impact. I applaud their efforts!"

NJ Ballot Bowl 2024 is a program of the New Jersey Department of State's Jersey Civic Engage initiative, and a joint effort with the ALL In Campus Democracy Challenge. It is a statewide non-partisan voter registration and engagement competition led by and for students. This year Ballot Bowl 2024 will again count both pledges to vote and voter registrations as part of the competition. The combined total of registrations and pledges, as a percentage of total student enrollment, determines the winners in each competitive conference.

"Voter registration is an initial step in the voting process, but not the only step," said Acting Director of the Division of Elections Donna Barber. "This friendly competition is also about persuading people to commit to vote. That will mean talking specifically about the value of voting, not about a particular candidate, but how voting affects all of us. We believe that when people feel they have a stake in their community they are more likely to participate in its public life, involve others, and vote."

In 2024, New Jersey voters will vote for candidates for President, US Senator, US House of Representatives, and county and municipal offices. The Ballot Bowl is an important opportunity for young voters to speak to each other about the impact that their votes make in their communities and the nation and how it strengthens democracy.

As an additional optional contest within the Ballot Bowl, New Jersey will again be conducting the Ballot Bowl Community Engage competition. This separate and optional contest focuses on teams increasing civic and voter engagement in the broader community that their campus is part of by registering voters and asking for pledges to vote for the November General Election.

There will be a formal statewide kickoff event on Tuesday, September 17, 2024 during Constitution Week and National Voter Registration Day at William Paterson University, as well as an award Touchdown Ceremony just after the election.

2024 Ballot Bowl participating schools include:

Bergen Community College
Berkeley College
Brookdale Community College
Camden County College
Centenary University
County College of Morris
Drew University
Felician University
Hudson County Community College
Kean University
Mercer County Community College
Middlesex College
Monmouth University
Montclair State University
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Passaic County Community College
Princeton University
Ramapo College of New Jersey
Rider University
Rowan College at Burlington County
Rutgers University - Newark
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Rutgers-Camden
The College of New Jersey
William Paterson University

For full details on the November 5 General Election, visit VOTE.NJ.GOV, contact local election officials, or call the Voter Information and Assistance Line at 1-877-NJ-Voter (1-877-658-6837). Follow on social media: @NJ_Votes, @NJCivicEngage; #NJBallotBowl, #NJStudentsVote, #NJVotes.

Media Contacts:

Terence Gallagher
Lou Hammond Group
[email protected]
917-539-0633

Alicia D'Alessandro
Office of the Secretary of State
Alicia.D'[email protected]
609-575-9196

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