Rutgers University in Camden Launches State’s Youth Voter Registration Campaign

As a DJ played, college mascots hyped the crowd during the Ballot Bowl competition at Rutgers University in Camden. A pep rally atmosphere set the stage for the state’s student-led youth voter registration campaign ahead of Election Day this November.

In an off-year election where just a fraction of registered New Jerseyans may cast their votes, the state’s Ballot Bowl competition seeks to game it up with a friendly, nonpartisan competition among state colleges and universities to register the most new voters and encourage students to exercise their civic duties at each and every election.

New Jersey college and university mascots helped kick off Ballot Bowl along with Philadelphia 76ers alumnus World B. Free, Student Government Association President Matthew Brodsky, Lt. Governor and Secretary of State Tahesha Way, and Nyeema Watson, senior vice chancellor for strategy, diversity and community engagement at Rutgers University–Camden.

Nyeema Watson, senior vice chancellor for strategy, diversity and community engagement at Rutgers–Camden, welcomed Lt. Governor and Secretary of State Tahesha Way to campus, where she encouraged students to draft a game plan to get out and vote.

“Elections—I always say this, even in the grade schools—elections are a team sport. We need all active participants. Think of opportunities, my friends, to stay engaged and make sure your peers know what is happening,” Way said.

“This is on record: In 2020, New Jersey youth voters led the nation, we were number one out of all of the states” in turnout, she added. “We mean business.”

Rutgers–Camden Student Government Association President and political science major Matthew Brodsky founded the RU–C Votes Coalition, an on-campus civic engagement group that is coordinating the university’s Ballot Bowl activities alongside the New Jersey Division of Elections. Last year, Rutgers–Camden won in its division with 700 pledges to vote and 60 new voter registrations.

Brodsky said how we vote is also important, as ease and accessibility foster a better turnout. “I’m happy to say we live in a state that accomplishes this. We have a state that allows for three methods of voting: election-day voting, early voting, and mail-in voting. This ensures that voting is easy for everyone and removes barriers that may keep someone from voting,” he said.

He appealed to his peers by likening a vote to a voice with direct impact on community.

“That voice is important and essential to preserving a democracy. This is especially true in elections like this one in November, where we're selecting people who are going to affect our day-to-day lives—things like our schools, our roads, our access to transportation,” he said.

Lt. Governor Way urged voters to make casting their ballots a habit. “We're talking about school board elections, fire district elections, state races, not just the presidential and the congressional. We need you to be at the table every single election,” she said.