NJ Ballot Bowl 2022 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 2022 again counted both pledges to vote and voter registrations as part of the competition. The combined total of registrations and pledges, as a percentage of student enrollment, determined the winners in each competitive division.

Every election is significant. The federal midterm elections were front and center this year, but so were local and county level elections. Municipal officials, school board members, local fire district commissioners and county commissioners were on the ballot across the state. These local elections have the most impact on our day-to-day lives. The Ballot Bowl competition is a great opportunity to make that point.

Voter registration is an initial step in the voting process, but not the only step. 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.

Ballot Bowl 2022 began on September 1st and ran through Election Day. There was a formal statewide kickoff event in September during Constitution Week and an award Touchdown Ceremony just after the election.