Nonprofit groups have one mission: Encouraging people to vote

The organizations are varied: nonprofits engaged in equity issues, economic empowerment, civil rights, voter education and civic engagement. But as New York and the nation look to the midterm elections next month, their goal is the same — to encourage people to vote.

Chapters of the League of Women Voters across Long Island are joined by other long-established groups, such as the NAACP, the Urban League of Long Island and the Long Island Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, along with newer organizations, including Minority Millennials, Voter Education 365 and Voters of Tomorrow, in trying to spur voter participation and election awareness.

Many took part in voter registration drives up until the Oct. 14 deadline to register for the Nov. 8 general election. And they've turned to social media to get the word out about things such as early voting, which starts in New York on Saturday and runs through Nov. 6. They've sponsored candidate forums and, in the case of the League of Women Voters, candidate debates.

"Most people are registered" to vote, said Barbara McClancy, vice president and chair of the voter services committee of the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island and the North Fork. "The problem we find is not enough registered voters come out to vote."

Lizbeth Thalheimer, president of the Huntington chapter of the League of Women Voters, said her chapter does voter registration drives at fairs, colleges, high schools, even citizen naturalization ceremonies, and hands out league-produced voter guides tailored to people who've never voted.

"I think it takes reaching out to everyone and really stressing the importance of the issues," she said. 

Barbara Epstein, who is on the management team of the East Nassau chapter of the League of Women Voters of Nassau County, said people looking for voter information can go to a national league website: vote411.org, where they can put in their address and find out what's on the ballot in their area and candidates' information. She also cited New York State's website: elections.ny.gov.

Bond issue on ballot, too

Epstein said many people are unaware there is a statewide bond issue on the ballot, a point also raised by Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, who spoke at the 100 Black Women coalition's candidates forum last week hosted by Hofstra University.

Proposition One is a "once-in-a-generation opportunity to vote for clean water," Esposito said of the $4.2 billion bond proposal. On most ballots in the state — except in Nassau — voters need to flip over the ballot to vote on the proposition. In Nassau, though, the proposition is on the front of the ballot at the bottom, she said.

The 100 Black Women coalition's candidates forum on Wednesday had 14 candidates for Assembly, State Senate and Congress as confirmed attendees. "We invite all candidates from all parties to come," said Wilma Holmes Tootle, president of the Long Island chapter of the coalition, which is nonprofit and nonpartisan.

"Now more than ever, we are concerned about voter dropout, voter apathy," she said. "We flood the community with our Facebook posts. We try to work with the NAACP and other groups to encourage people to vote. We understand it's not going to happen if we don't make these personal appeals. … We know it's more than just voter registration."

Betty Peek, 68, of Hempstead, was among about 50 people who attended the coalition's candidates forum.

"A lot of times all you know about a candidate is these flyers you get in the mail," she said, adding, "but to get to see them in person, see them speak, see them live in action, you kind of get a feel about the person, when they are answering questions that are put to them live." 

Hofstra President Susan Poser said in her welcome remarks at the forum that the university had recently sponsored a voter registration drive on campus, during which 500 students registered, prompting sustained applause.

Focus on young people

That focus on young people is critical for other organizations, including the NAACP and Minority Millennials.

The Islip Town chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapter has joined with the League of Women Voters of Suffolk County and the Islip Arts Council for a high school student poster contest centered on voting.

Lisa Scott, president of the Suffolk League of Women Voters, said while many of the students themselves can't vote, the effort "is a way of getting into the web of friends, family, teachers, retailers, their communities" about voting. "The idea is just to have another way for people to, almost subconsciously, be reminded" about voting, she said.

William King Moss III, president of the NAACP's Islip Town chapter, said "our efforts, as a nonprofit organization interested in social welfare, is that people need to understand that voting is year-round." For example, he cited other elections beyond those affecting statewide and congressional offices in November.

"There are local fire district elections in December, library board elections in April and school board elections in May," he said. "And it's really important to exercise the right to vote and put yourself on the selection committee."

Minority Millennials enlisted high school students, who make up part of the Gen Z population — ages 10 to 25 — in a voting campaign. Minority Millennials linked up with a new group called Voters of Tomorrow for a social media campaign last week called "Turning Gen Z's Passion into Votes of Action!" 

"There are a lot of things happening in our society right now, and some people feel their voices are not being heard and may not want to vote, as we saw in 2021 in the local elections. We need to get them to vote," said Daniel Lloyd, president of Minority Millennials. "I'm 36 years old. The oldest millennial is 41. We're not necessarily young — young anymore. As an organization based on Long Island, we felt it vital to work with younger people."

Maekyla Massey, a 16-year-old 11th-grader at Baldwin High school, who is Gen Z and civic engagement coordinator for Minority Millennials, and Krishna Chalise, New York State leader of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Voters of Tomorrow, which she said is a 2-year-old organization begun in Texas — the New York chapter formed this year — said they were energized to talk to young people.

"What motivates me and a lot of younger people is recognizing the policy changes that happen now directly shape our futures," said Chalise, a 17-year-old senior at Jericho High School.

Said Massey: "The votes in November are mostly the votes of the older generation that don't reflect the needs of the younger generation."

Theresa Sanders, president of the Urban League of Long Island, said she's "hopeful people will come out and engage and vote." But she's also apprehensive that "people are burned out."

"Community leaders are doing candidate nights. But getting people there is where I see the challenge, particularly from a lot of young professionals. They say, 'Why should I show up? I still don't have sidewalks or sewers or access to jobs,' " Sanders said.

Involved for decades in elections work, Deborah Payton-Jones, who incorporated Voter Education 365 in 2020 and gained nonprofit status this year, said she finds that for many people who aren't habitual voters, "The apathy is not with not wanting to go out and vote, it's not knowing who to vote for."

It's why she speaks at many organizations' events about voting issues and hosted her own meet-and-greet with candidates this summer.

"They don't realize all politics is local — and that's where it starts," Payton-Jones said.

By Olivia Winslow

olivia.winslow@newsday.com@newsollie