NJTV News’ Raven Santana Reports
A voting age as low as 16. Paid time off on Election Day. Mandatory civics classes in high school and college. Terms limits for local officials.
A respected social advocacy group is recommending these and other sweeping changes in a new report addressing low voter turnout for elections in New Jersey.
In “Our Vote, Our Power: Lifting up Democracy’s Voices in the Garden State,” the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice identifies four barriers that keep people from exercising their franchise: lack of knowledge about how government works, registration challenges and the timing of elections, restrictions on who can vote and the perception that the system is not responsive to voters’ desires.