CDF - NY CDF - NY
Site Map Search Home
AboutCDF Contact Us Links Links Links Links

"Children Can't Vote. You Can."
Voter Registration & Education Project
"Take a Child to Vote" Pledge Campaign

During the historic Freedom Summer of 1964, thousands of young people worked tirelessly to end the political and social disenfranchisement of African-Americans in the South through voter registration and education. It is with great excitement that the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) marked the 40th Anniversary of the Freedom Summer and advanced the Movement to Leave No Child Behind by launching its own nonpartisan voter empowerment initiative. This initiative mobilized all of CDF to conduct voter education, registration and get-out- the-vote activities for the 2004 election cycle.

VOTER REGISTRATION

CDF's Voter Registration & Education Project used"Children Can't Vote. You Can." as its central organizing theme. The project has two complementary components:

  • An America's Families United grant-funded voter registration effort with the goal of registering 45,000 voters (15,000 each in MS, NY & OH). This project targets 12 counties in Mississippi, 4 counties in New York, and 5 counties in Ohio. This effort seeks to register low-income African-Americans, Latinos and Asians through a combination of door-to-door and site registration, utilizing CDF's youth, faith and community networks.

  • An expectation that every part of CDF that is in contact with potential voters, including other state/regional offices, Religious Action, SPROUT/ SHOUT, Freedom Schools andother CDF programs, will fold voter registration activities into their ongoing work.

Take a Child To Vote Campaign


The concurrent get-out-the-vote pledge campaign -- "Take a Child to Vote" -- helps citizens understand the importance of voting, the critical issues affecting children, and the need to pass these lessons along to the next generation.

The main thrust of the campaign is to ask voters to pledge to "Take a Child to Vote." Registered voters are asked to fill out a pledge form where they commit to take a child to the polls with them as a means of teaching children the importance of voting, but also to ensure that they vote with children's needs in mind.

CDF is engaged in an effort to conduct broad voter outreach and education to ensure the success of the pledge campaign in increasing voter turn out on election day.

For more information, contact Taj A. Brown at 212.697.2323 (x115) or tbrown@cdfny.org.

The Children's Defense Fund's voter registration and education project is nonpartisan and does not reflect an endorsement of any candidate or political party.

MATERIALS/TOOLS

 

 

 


420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 655, New York, NY 10170
Tel: (212) 697-2323 • Fax: (212) 697-0566 • Email: messages@cdfny.org
News • Issues • Research & Reports • The Movement • What Can I Do? • Home
Donate • About CDF-NY • Contact Us • Links • CDF National • Site Map • Search • En Espanol

© Children's Defense Fund - New York
Last Update:
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Webmaster: edavis@cdfny.org