Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way joined students, faculty, and staff at William Paterson University on Tuesday, September 17th to kick off the 7th Annual New Jersey Ballot Bowl on National Voter Registration Day.
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 Secretary of State and New Jersey’s chief election official. Collegiate-based teams compete within 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.
Since the Ballot Bowl’s establishment in 2018, hundreds of New Jersey college students have helped thousands of their classmates register to vote and participate in elections. In the last presidential election in 2020, New Jersey had the highest youth voter turnout in the nation.
The program featured remarks from Lieutenant Governor Way; Richard J. Helldobler, President of William Paterson University (WP); Idida Rodriguez, Board of Trustee member at WP; Teddy Lockhart, WP Student Government Association President; and Donna Minnich Spuhler, WP Director of Campus Activities, Service & Leadership. Students were thrilled to hear from NY Giants players Kayvon Thibodeaux and Bobby Okereke about the importance of voting.
“Ballot Bowl is so important in helping drive voter registration and participation through the efforts of hundreds of students across New Jersey,” said Lieutenant Governor Way. “It’s exciting to see these young New Jerseyans step up, give back and get so involved in our great democracy. We’re expecting great things from this year’s competition.”
“It means a great deal to all of us at William Paterson University to host the launch of 2024’s Ballot Bowl,” said University President Helldobler. “It is vital for our students here and throughout the state to exercise their right to vote and understand the importance of democracy in our country.”
“William Paterson University is committed to encouraging our students and those throughout our state to be active participants in the election process,” said WP Student Government Association President Lockhart. “The best way to make our voices heard and impact our country is to vote. Ballot Bowl is a great way to raise awareness and also have some fun with a little friendly competition amongst our fellow New Jersey students.”
The livestream recording of the event can be found here.
Kayvon Thibodeaux also provided this video to share with Ballot Bowl schools to help recruit participants.
An award Touchdown Ceremony will take place for the winning school 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
