JERSEY CITY - Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham will kick-off a "Voter Education
Campaign" at 1 p.m. Tuesday, January 27, 2004 at the Mary McCleod Bethune
Community Center at 140 Martin Luther King Drive.
The campaign, which will consist of several training sessions at community centers and
public meeting places throughout the city, is aimed at educating voters about the new
electronic voting machines mandated by federal law. The machines, which are part of the
"Help America Vote Act," will first be used during the School Board election in April.
"As Americans, the right to vote is one of our most valuable liberties and something that
must be safe-guarded at all costs," Cunningham said. "We must make it a priority to
ensure that all residents of this country know how to use the new voting machines and
what they need to bring to the polls when voting."
"That's why I am reaching out to the people of Jersey City to make sure they are fully
informed," Cunningham added.
In addition to the electronic machines, new voters are also required to present two forms
of identification when voting, also a provision of the Congressional voting act passed in
October of 2002 but which became law January 1, 2004. Some forms of identification
include a driver's license, passport, and a birth certificate, and training sessions will
further explain this element of the new voting act.
Hudson County Superintendent of Elections Marie Borace will attend the training the
session, which is the first of its kind in the county.
The old machines, which Cunningham said are part of the County's storied political
history, will be preserved for educational purposes. In Jersey City, one of the machines
will be on display at the Jersey City Museum.
