The bell at Hoboken High School rang at 2:15 p.m., signaling the start of a special session for Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics students. The class was joined by notable guests, including Governor Phil Murphy, Assemblymember Cleopatra Tucker, and State Senator Raj Mukherji.
AP Government and Politics teacher Steve D’Bernado organized the classroom into groups and instructed students to place their phones in a designated lock box. As the second bell rang, the guests entered, drawing attention from the students.
“Ladies and gentlemen we have a special guest. We have our New Jersey state Governor Phil Murphy,” announced D’Bernado, which was met with applause.
Murphy joined group number five for an activity that involved answering multiple-choice questions about natural rights, federalism, and popular sovereignty. The governor's group performed well, getting five out of six questions correct.
Following the exercise, Murphy addressed the class on voting rights for younger citizens. “We’re here for a very specific reason – other than I just had a complete ball and I’m sure my colleagues did as well – and that is, we are espousing voting rights for 16- and 17-year-olds,” he said. He explained that Newark is leading efforts to allow these young individuals to vote in school board elections starting in April.
Murphy expressed his desire to extend this initiative statewide: “We, the three of us and our colleagues, would like to make that state law.” If successful, New Jersey would be pioneering this effort nationwide.
He concluded by praising the students' talent: “It’s the first step for 16- and 17-year-olds participating into the broader participation in ultimately all of our elections.”
Hannah Gross reported on this event for NJ Spotlight News.
