By Avi Lesches
Friday, May 28, is the final day to register to vote in the New York State and Local Primary for the upcoming elections. This election is a very crucial one for our community in particular. Though we’re told this nearly every election cycle, it is still true that every election holds deep importance for us as Jews, as Americans, and as a community.
Even though every election has the potential to significantly impact our community, our voter turnout is not as good as it could be. Our community often pays a steep price due to our low turnout. For example, in the past few years, a fringe group of individuals pressured local politicians to investigate our yeshivas for what they deem to be insufficient secular studies. An investigation was launched which created more than a minor annoyance to the yeshivas.
This should never have happened.
In the first place, the vast majority of parents are opposed to governmental interference with our educational system. It is shocking that politicians would try to intrude in our yeshivas, where parents knowingly and voluntarily send their children, merely because a few agitators complained.
What is even more concerning is that our community’s educational interests are completely disregarded by lawmakers. On average, the New York City public school system spends more than $25,000 of taxpayer money per child per year. That’s not a typo, that’s more than twenty-five thousand dollars for every single child for one year in public school!
Though we are taxpayers, our community receives almost nothing.
For the average family in our community, one of the biggest expenses, if not the biggest expense, is schar limud (tuition). The average frum family in Brooklyn has an average of six children. If we received what we are entitled to, the average family would receive more than $150,000 each year towards tuition expenses. What we actually receive is laughable. (Total government spending towards all private school programs, including lunch, transportation and others combined is about $1,500 per child.) Our community does not receive vouchers, tax credits, or even tax deductions for tuition. The most important issue in our community is completely ignored by those in power. In fact, they are actually trying to impose their views on our schools which we pay for out of our own pockets.
One reason this occurs is that politicians don’t believe that they need to consider our interests because many members of our community do not show up to the polls. The only way to change this is to get the community to go out and vote.
This Friday, May 28, is the last day to register to vote. If you are not already registered, please register at: https://voterreg.dmv.ny.gov/MotorVoter
If you are unsure if you are registered to vote, please visit: https://www.nycvotersearch.com/
There should be tables set up all around Crown Heights assisting people to register
And on Election Day, there should be busses running all day to help people get to the polls and back home
He left out not just to be registered but as a Democrate so we can participate in the primaries which decide the general election in our district! The above links people can use those to change their party!
Hold your nose & register as a Democrat so that NY finally has a normal Mayor.
We needed boots to ground voter registration!
We arranged a voter registration event at our shul.
I’ve heard that there *is* a table on Kingston.
It so happens that this late (2 weeks before deadline) and very little IF WE SEE THIS AS THE END.
In truth this should be the beginning. We need to continue to register even after the deadline for the vote after and for the vote after that.
I changed my party registration online from Republican to Democrat on May 16th. The mailed approval dated May 19th shows that the new party registration will not be effective until June 29th — a full week after the upcoming primary election on June 22nd. Meanwhile, I’m still a Republican.
It is noteworthy that if I had not been registered at all, I would still be on time to register as a Democrat and vote in the upcoming Democrat primary.
Any idea how to be able to vote in the primaries?
I was not registered at all in any party and I chose democratic party, and they put it down as a transfer and so im not eligible to vote in the democratic primary. maybe there is some fraud going on not to let us vote in the democratic primary? Possible?
Only fools vote democrats looks whats happening to Jews in America can’t even walk the street with a kippah anymore scary ! Stop voting for the Democrats when will Jews learn the lesson !!! There are consequences .
There are 9 democratic voters for every one republican voter in nyc.
We WILL have a democratic mayor. The question for voters is will we have a progressive one or a moderate, traditional one?
The article’s about the PRIMARY, not the general.
“Gouly”, why don’t you put your money where your mouth is? Go out there and convince another million New Yorkers to vote Republican! If you don’t do that, then not only are YOU causing Democrats to win, but you’re making the very WORST and MOST RADICAL ones win! Because you’re telling normal people not to vote for the moderate ones. So that’ll result in only crazy people voting for the very worst candidates.
He’s talkimg about the PRIMARY, not general.
Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is? Go out there and convince another million New Yorkers to vote Republican! If you don’t do that, then not only are YOU causing Democrats to win, but you’re making the very WORST and MOST RADICAL ones win! Because you’re telling normal people not to vote for the moderate ones. So that’ll result in only crazy people voting for the very worst candidates.
I’ve been a democrat since I turned 18. I’m voting for the most progressive, liberal candidate out there.
Please go and register to vote of you haven’t already, it’s critical for our community!
Perhaps COLLIVE can endorse a candidate?
I changed my party registration online from Republican to Democrat on May 16th. The mailed approval dated May 19th shows that the new party registration will not be effective until June 29th — a full week after the upcoming primary election on June 22nd. Meanwhile, I’m still a Republican.
It is noteworthy that if I had not been registered at all, I would still be on time to register as a Democrat and vote in the upcoming Democrat primary.
Democratic party is vehemently anti semitic. WHY WOULD ANY JEWISH PERSON WANT YO VOTE THEM IN?
By now I am sure you have all seen the encouragement to register to vote. Although I agree that everyone should register, I have an issue with the premise that they encourage, register as a democrat because you have the most sway that way in the election. If say we were alive in Germany in the 1930’s and the ruling party was the National Socialist German Workers’ Party would all our “Askanim and handlers” etc.. Tell you to register to that party. It is sad to say but I think they would. There is a big part of the democratic party… Read more »