Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson working to improve voter turnout in elections: Column

America’s population is larger and more diverse than ever before — but our democratic systems are struggling to catch up. Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson, a member-led immigrant rights and social justice organization in Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster counties, is conducting an ambitious voter registration and get out the vote campaign to expand and energize the Hudson Valley’s electorate.

Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson registered 1,067 voters in the last three months and is aiming to make 10,000 calls and texts to voters leading up to mid-term elections.

The local effort is part of the “Immigrants Vote!” Campaign of the New York Immigration Coalition, a statewide alliance of immigrant justice organizations that includes Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson. Since 1998, the campaign has registered more than 450,000 voters and engaged with over 1.15 million voters. This campaign is non-partisan, working to strengthen the nation’s democracy rather than any particular political party.

The Immigrants Vote! Campaign seeks to register new Americans and people of color to vote, increase voter turnout among underrepresented communities, and increase low voter propensity turnout. Despite the country’s growing diversity, our voter rolls are disproportionately white, excluding large numbers of immigrant and non-white voters. Additionally, people of color and low-income communities turn out at lower rates than white and wealthy communities due to a myriad of reasons including poor voter outreach, frequent changes in polling locations, difficulty accessing transportation and time constraints due to employment circumstances. In the last presidential election, 63 percent of the eligible white population voted compared to only 48 percent of the eligible Latinx population. Additionally, 74 percent of those making more than $50,000 voted, compared to only 52 percent of those making under $50,000.

Overall, America trails most other developed countries in voter turnout. The Pew Research Center ranked the U.S. 31st out of 35 countries for voter turnout among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. America especially struggles with a large number of low propensity voters — people who almost exclusively vote in presidential general elections, skipping out on primaries and off-year elections.

The Immigrants Vote! Campaign has the potential to rejuvenate the Hudson Valley’s electorate by registering new voters and increasing voter turnout.

Elected officials decide where our children learn, what healthcare we get, and how our rights are protected — decisions which directly impact our everyday lives. Legislators listen and attend to the needs of the people who vote; if we are to have a truly just democracy, we must ensure that all identities are represented at the ballot box.

If you’d like to help Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson make 10,000 calls and texts to voters leading up to mid-term elections, email vanessa@nobodyleavesmidhudson.org or call 845-481-0703, ext 66.

Yasemin Smallens is a political science major at Vassar College class of 2020 and is an intern with Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson.

Read more:

KEY CONGRESSIONAL RACE:6 Takeaways: Faso, Delgado spar on health care, immigration, more

KEY STATE SENATE RACE:5 Takeaways: Serino, Smythe debate abortion laws, ethics, gun control