UJCARE אנאנסירט 5,312 פריש רעגיסטרירטע וויילער

On Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 10:00 AM, representatives of UJCARE will gather at the NYC Board of Elections, 32 Broadway in Manhattan, and deliver 5312 new voter registration forms.

The significance of this number and this public presentation is particularly noteworthy after a New York Times article, published on Friday, August 8th, quoted a New York political consultant, saying that "the Satmar Hasidim represent 3,000 to 4,000 votes in a Democratic primary".

While voter turnout historically has been poor in the Hasidic communities, UJCARE, a new community advocacy organization, began a major registration drive just a few weeks ago, which has already resulted in registering twice as many new voters as the average turnout of previous elections, and has exceeded the estimate of Satmar's total voting power.

"The kind of enthusiasm that I have seen from the younger generation to get out the vote, has not been seen in the last 20 years", said Rabbi Leib Glanz, a community leader for the past 35 years in the Williamsburg community. "Candidates and elected officials will be surprised at the number of voters come election time".

Howard Katz, Executive Director of UJCARE, added "They [the younger generation] are the driving force behind this registration campaign. They realize, maybe for the first time, that they hold their future in their hands. Their vote counts. Their vote makes a difference".

The registration drive is far from over. UJCARE has a goal of registering as many as 15,000 new voters by the end of its voter registration campaign.

After the Board of Election presentation, at 11:15 AM, UJCARE representatives will hold a press conference on the steps of City Hall.