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For Immediate Release:  
For Further Information Contact:
August 31, 2005

Office of The Attorney General
- Peter C. Harvey, Attorney General

 

Tracy Munford
609-341-3235 or 609-571-5101

 

Atlantic County Seniors to Tape PSA to Motivate Non-Voting Seniors
Across New Jersey to Vote in Gubernatorial and Local Elections

Seniors Promote “Be Powerful, Be Heard” Statewide Voter Initiative

New Jersey Attorney General Peter C. Harvey was joined by more than 100 Atlantic County seniors to tape a 30 second Public Service Announcement (PSA) to encourage senior citizens to register and vote. The meeting and taping took place at the Atlantic Adult Day Healthcare facility in Northfield, New Jersey. Also participating in the taping were Northfield Mayor Frank Perri, Jr. and Marilyn Askin, President of the New Jersey AARP.

Prior to the taping the Attorney General led a brief program to thank Atlantic County seniors, the Atlantic Day Healthcare administrators and staff and others for participating in the “BE POWERFUL, BE HEARD” campaign to raise voter awareness and encourage seniors to register and vote. The PSA will be archived and shown on New Jersey Network, cable and location television stations across the state.

Harvey said, “Participating in the electoral process in person or through absentee ballot is as important to seniors as it is to any other group in the state.” Harvey continued, “Through the Help America Vote Act we created the “Be Powerful, Be Heard” Vote New Jersey initiative and have over the past year significantly increased voter awareness, resulting in a record number of registered voters – more than 460,000 bringing New Jersey’s number of registered voters to more than five million for the first time in state history.”

Today’s program is part of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002, a federal law providing for federal monies to assist states in upgrading voting equipment, election procedures and education and outreach. Through HAVA, the Office of the Attorney General has sponsored a number of outreach initiatives designed to educate New Jerseyans about the importance of voting and voter registration.

PSA’s have also included actors and sports figures, all with a New Jersey connection, including actors Michael Douglas, Jason Alexander and Billy Baldwin; and entertainer Queen Latifah and football players from the Giants, Jeremiah Trotter of the Philadelphia Eagles and Kenny Anderson, formerly of the New Jersey Nets.

A special PSA was done in May with officers and members of New Jersey’s National Guard. The PSA is being shown in military bases across the world for the nearly 3,000 members stationed overseas. The kickoff program included New Jersey Brigadier General and Deputy Adjutant General Maria Falca-Dodson, Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, Assemblywoman Linda R. Greenstein, Lawrence Township Mayor Pamela Mount and actor Joe Piscopo.

“BE POWERFUL, BE HEARD” is the public outreach component and slogan of New Jersey’s voter education initiative and includes PSA’s, college bus tours, concerts and other voter registration and get out the vote efforts. The Attorney General, “This initiative is a comprehensive approach to voter education and voting. We have an enormous challenge and opportunity to raise awareness and educate New Jersey residents about the power of the vote.”

The General Election will be held on Tuesday, November 8. The registration deadline for the General Election is Tuesday, October 11. People can apply for absentee ballots by mail up to seven days in advance of Election Day and in person until 3 p.m. the Monday before Election Day. For more information about voting, visit www.NJElections.org or call 1-800-NJ-VOTER (1-877-658-6837).

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