Voting in NYC
Voting is one of the most important ways to make a change within the government as a citizen and a very accessible way to get your voice heard.
Increasing the number of people that vote in each election means better representation, more funding to our communities, and a better quality
of life. Politicians listen to money and votes. If we work together as a community and increase voter turnout, then our state and
national legislators will listen to our needs.
Robust voter turnout is fundamental to a healthy democracy. As low turnout is usually attributed to political disengagement and the belief that
voting for one candidate/party or another will do little to alter public policy, "established" democracies tend to have higher turnout than other
countries. However, voter turnout in the U.S. is much lower than most established democracies.
Almost 92 million eligible Americans did not vote in the 2016 presidential elections. For the nation’s democracy to function properly
and for government to provide fair representation, all eligible Americans must have the opportunity to vote—and be encouraged to do so.
New York typically lags behind the rest of the country in voter turnout, but 11 NYC neighborhoods actually surpassed the national turnout
rate in 2018 shown in the interactive map below.