Bronx Organizing &
Civics Workshops
Week 2: Voting, the Census and
Organizing to be Heard
Bronx Community Board #6
Saturday, December 14, 2019
Agenda
01
02
03
04
Voter Registration in New York
The Census
How to Organize
Registering to Vote
To register to vote you must:
 Be a US citizen
 Be 18 years old by December 31 of the year
you register
 Can pre-register to vote if you are at least 16
 Be a resident of the state and county, city or
village for at least 30 days before the election
 Not be in prison or on parole for a felony
conviction (unless parolee pardoned or
restored rights of citizenship)
 Not be adjudged mentally incompetent by a
court
 Not claim the right to vote elsewhere
Process of Voter Registration
Online
01
02
What You Need
 NYS driver license, permit or non-driver ID
card
 ZIP Code that is on record with the DMV
 Social Security number
Go to Voter Registration on the DMV
site
 https://voterreg.dmv.ny.gov/MotorVoter/
03
Final Step
 Submit and keep the confirmation
email for your records
Process of Voter Registration
In - Person
01
How to Get the Application
 Request the
Application by joining
the NYS Board of
Election mailing list
 Call 1-800-FOR-VOTE
hotline to request a
voter application
 Request from other
Agency-Based voting
registration centers
02
How to Submit the Application
 At your County Board of Elections
 At any New York State Agency-Based
voter registration center
 DMV
Bronx County Board of Elections
1780 Grand Concourse #101
Bronx, New York 10457
(718) 299 – 9017
Open 9 AM – 5 PM
NYS Agency-Based Voter Registration Centers
Division of Veterans’
Services
CUNYs and SUNYs
Commission for the Blind
and Visually Impaired
Alcohol and Substance
Abuse Services
Department of Health –
WIC Program
CUNYs and Office for
People with Developmental
Disabilities
Department of State
Military Recruiting
Offices
Office for the Aging
Workers’ Compensation
Board
Department of Labor
Office of Mental Health
Adult Career and Continuing
Education Services – Vocational
Rehabilitation (ACCES-VR)
Department of Social
Services
DEADLINES TO REGISTER
 April 28, 2020 Presidential Primary
Deadline: March 27, 2020
 June 23, 2020 U.S House, Assembly and State
Senate Primary
Deadline: May 29, 2020
 November 3, 2020 U.S House, Assembly and
State Senate General
Deadline: October 9, 2020
NYS Absentee Ballot
You may vote by absentee ballot if:
01




Absent from county or NYC on election day
Unable to appear at polls due to illness or disability or primary caregiver of one or
more people who are ill or disabled
Resident or patient of a Veterans Health Administration Hospital
Detained in jail awaiting Grand Jury action or in prison after conviction for offense
other than a felony
Attaining an Application
02
 Available at your county board of elections and must be mailed to your county
board of elections
 Send a letter to your county board of elections requesting an application
 If permanently ill or disabled, file an application with your county board of
elections indicating such
 Online: https://absentee.vote.org/?state=New+York
03
Deadlines
 Primary Election: June 16, 2020 (postmark)
June 22, 2020 ( in-person)
 General Election: October 27, 2019 (postmark)
November 2, 2020 (in-person)
Registration Changes
o Once you register, you are permanently registered unless:
• Purged from the system
• Convicted of a felony
• Adjudged mentally incompetent by a court
o Name, address or party enrollment changes are made by submitting
a new registration application
o If you move, notify the Board of Elections by re-registering
o Must be done at least 20 days before the election
NYS Early Voting
 Governor Cuomo signed the early
v
oting legislation in January 2019
 Early voting for the primary starts on
June 13, 2020 and runs until June 21, 2
020
 Early voting for the general runs from
October 24, 2020 to November 1, 2020
 Find your polling place:
https://www.ny.gov/early-voting-new-yor
k
Activity #1
Register To Vote Online/ Check Your Registration!
https://voterreg.dmv.ny.gov/MotorVoter/
https://voterlookup.elections.ny.gov/
THE CENSUS – Who Counts?
 Everyone Counts – counts everyone living in
the US once -- even babies
 Any and all children who live with you
 Children who split time between their homes
 Citizens
 Undocumented – The citizenship question has
been removed from the census
 Residents
 The Census Bureau is required to protect any
personal information collected and your
responses cannot be used against you
THE CENSUS - Why
 Counting your children determine
s which area qualifies for critical
resources over the next decade
 Encourage people to respond to
the 2020 Census, it will bring
resources and programs into the
community
THE CENSUS – What happens with the results of the Census
 The result of the census is used to
reapportion the House of Representatives
which determines how many seats each
state gets
 State officials redraw boundaries of the
congressional and state legislative districts
in their states accounting for population
changes
 Census helps determine funding that state
governments and local communities receive
from the federal government
THE CENSUS – What happens with the results of the Census
 The result of the census is used to
reapportion the House of Representatives
which determines how many seats each
state gets
 State officials redraw boundaries of the
congressional and state legislative districts
in their states accounting for population
changes
 Census helps determine funding that state
governments and local communities receive
from the federal government
Census Timeline
Hiring of
in-field
address
canvassers August 19,
2019
Spring
2019
In-field
address
canvassing
begins
Hiring of
Enumerators
September
2019
January
2020
Enumeration
of remote
Alaskan
communities
Census
postcards
sent to
housing units
March
2020
March 12-20
2020
Mailing 1:
Letter with
info for
online survey
or letter with
paper survey
Mailing 2:
Reminder
letter to
housing units
March 16-24
2020
March 26 –
April 3 2020
Mailing 3:
Postcard to
nonrespondents
Mailing 4:
Letter &
questionnaire
to nonrespondents
April
2020
April
2020
Mailing 5:
“It’s not too
late” postcard
to nonrespondents
Census Timeline (Continued)
Start of
selfresponse
March
2020
March
2020
Start
Internet selfresponse,
including
non-ID
processing
Start Census
questionnaire
assistance
March
2020
March
2020
Start Paper
data capture
CENSUS DAY
April 1,
2020
April
2020
End of hiring
enumerators
Start
conducting
update leave
April
2020
May
2020
End
conducting
update leave
Start nonresponse
follow-up
May
2020
May
2020
Start nonresponse
follow-up reinterview
Census Timeline (Continued)
Start Group
Quarters
Advance
Contact
June
2020
July
2020
End Census
questionnaire
assistance
July
2020
End Internet
self-response,
including nonID processing
July
2020
End Group
Quarters
Advance
Contact
End nonresponse
follow-up reinterview
July
2020
July
2020
Start Group
Quarters
Enumeration
Conduct
Group
Quarters
Service-Based
Enumeration
July
2020
August
2020
End of paper
data capture
End of selfresponse
August
2020
August
2020
Census director
delivers
apportionment
counts to the
president
December 31,
2020
End Group
Quarters
Enumeration
March
2021
Publish
Prototype P.L.
94-171 Data and
Geographic
Products
Census Bureau
completes delivery
of redistricting
counts to states
April
2021
Only 61.9% of New York households self-responded in 2010. The nationwide
rate was over 10 points higher, which is 75.8%.
Source: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/census/faq/frequently-asked-questions.page
Activity #2
FILL OUT A MOCK CENSUS!
Organizing
 Community organizing and development is a process by which a community empow
ers itself by working to identify its needs and to resolve its problems in a collective man
ner. This process develops the confidence and capability of community members to or
ganize themselves.
 Requires Patience
 Long-Term and Short-Term Goals
 Not just social media posts- in person and consistent engagement
What are some effective examples you know?
General Organizing Tips
1. Nobody's going to come to the meeting unless they've got a reason to come to
the meeting.
2. Nobody's going to come to a meeting unless they know about it.
3. If an organization doesn't grow, it will die.
4. Anyone can be a leader.
5. The most important victory is the group itself.
6. Sometimes winning is losing.
7. Sometimes winning is winning.
8. If you're not fighting for what you want, you don't want enough.
9. Celebrate!
10. Have fun!
How to Reach out to Elected Official Offices
1. Going in person
2. Calling the Office
3. Writing Letters
4. Emailing the Office
5. Social Media
Who to Contact at a Elected Official Office?
Chief of Staff
Scheduler
Tips for Effective Advocacy
 Be professional and specific
 Remember to tell them how you can be
reached
 Be reasonable
 Keep it simple
 Thank legislators for meeting with you
 Follow up with a letter to the legislator
and/or the staffer
 Always follow up with information/
research you promised to provide
What If You Don’t Get a Response?
Organize your neighbors
Testify at City Hall and Albany
Organize a Protest
Go to the elected officials in a large group
What If You Don’t Get a Response?
Go to the Media
Write an Op-Ed
Reach out to nonprofit organizations
or city agencies
Reach out to your community board
How to Advocate for Funding
o Make sure the request is in the specific district
o Budget specific amounts
o Present a budget and have copies for them to review –
make sure you have gathered all of the information
o Show how many people will be impacted
o Make your case!
Where to see NYC Councilmembers Spend Money
Capital Funding
http://www.nyc.gov/html/citycouncil/html/budget/capital_funding.shtml
Expense Funding
http://www.nyc.gov/html/citycouncil/html/budget/capital_funding.s
html
Advocacy Example
How to Advocate for a Policy Change (Legislation)
 Make sure you know all the facts (arguments for and against)
 Is it a new bill? If not, know the pending bill and bill number
 If the elected official is in support then ask them to encourage
other colleagues to sign
 If they are not a supporter, then explain why it is important
• You want to make a political argument and detail who it
affects
 You can also testify in City Hall or Albany
Other Ways to Advocate for Policy Change
 Making political contributions (Follow the Money)
 Supporting someone else for office or running yourself
 Starting a political club/ non-profit/ advocacy group
https://www.elections.ny.gov/ContributionSearchA.
html (NY State political contributions)
https://www.nyccfb.info/FTMSearch/Home/FTMSearch (NYC
political contributions)
Organizing Tool- NationBuilder.com
What If You’re Not Heard?
Activity #3
THINK OF A LOCAL ISSUE IN YOUR COMMUNITY AND HOW YOU
WOULD ORGANIZE TO GET IT ADDRESSED
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●E-mail: bronxcb6@bronxcb6.org