(Updated August 29, 2023)

Update from Voting Rights Team Member, Marilyn Hartman - Durham/Orange County Chapter

📣 Calls to Action!

Ensuring everyone has a voice at the polls in North Carolina takes ALL OF US! 

Do it the CJJ way!

• Be sure you are registered to vote! 
• Find out if there is an 2023 election where you live. 
• Know the new photo ID requirement and other changes since the last election. 
• Take action to help others cast a ballot!  See below for a menu of options. 
•  Build the CJJ Community and grow our impact.  
  • When you take action, please email us at [email protected] so we know how we are doing! 
  • Are you part of a group that is ready to take action -  a book club, community organization, or synagogue?  Or would you like to connect CJJ to one of our pro-democracy partners?  If so, contact a Voting Rights Team Member (see below). 

🗳️ Register voters year round!  

Join a Volunteer Empowerment Training (virtual or in person) with You Can Vote to learn the voter registration rules and find out if there are events in your area.  To register voters in other parts of the state, check with the voting rights leader of your CJJ chapter (see below).

Be an advocate for voting and make sure elections are accessible and fair!

• Be a poll worker!  Have a rewarding experience with a time-limited commitment, by becoming a precinct election official.  Some counties are in sore need of poll workers.  For more information sign up with Democracy NC’s Power The Polls.  
• Lobby your legislators with Carol Moreno Cifuentes and the Democracy NC Lobby Team to advocate for voting rights.  Email here for more information.
• Monitor the implementation of the new Voter ID Law and other rules by attending a meeting of your local County Board of Election, with support from Democracy NC. 

 Help Voters get Photo IDs 

Voters need Photo IDs starting this year.  One acceptable form of photo ID is now being issued by County Boards of Election.  In addition, VoteRiders trains volunteers to provide free 1:1 assistance (either virtually or in-person) to people wanting to get a photo ID issued through the DMV.  You can also write letters with VoteRiders to voters unlikely to have an ID ([email protected]) to inform them about the new rules and offer VoteRiders assistance.

🤝 Connect with CJJ’s Pro-Democracy Partners!

Common Cause NC is holding a series of Town Halls across North Carolina to “build people power and hold state lawmakers accountable to the public.”  Join a town hall in your area by checking here. To stay in the loop and join the work of Common Cause, sign up here. 

Democracy North Carolina supports voting rights advocacy.  Sign up here for Action Alerts and check out their new ‘mobilize’ page here to get the latest! 

The New Rural Project works in seven rural NC counties, but regardless of where you live, you can help engage voters virtually. To find out more, sign up here.  

🧠 Learn more! 

CJJ Voting Rights Team Leader Ron Katz edits a monthly (and sometimes twice a month) e-newsletter that offers opportunities to learn, be inspired, and take action around voting and democracy rights. Subscribing is free and open to all. To subscribe, email [email protected].

❤️ To see how we made a difference together in 2022, please read the Statewide Voting Rights Workgroup - 2022 Report to the CJJ Community.

AND MORE!

• Watch this space and check our e-blasts for opportunities to learn and take action.
• Visit our list of trusted resources for ongoing learning and engagement.
• Contact the Voting Rights Working Group leader of your chapter to meet fellow CJJniks and learn what your chapter is doing:

• Ron Katz, CJJ-West Democracy Rights Team Leader (also available by phone: 828-768-4559)
• Marilyn Hartman, CJJ-Triangle Voting Rights Team Leader
• Herb Baum, CJJ-Triad Voting Rights Team Leader
• Anywhere else statewide, contact Debbie Goldstein!
• Abby Lublin, CJJ Executive Director