GOA Students Organize Get Out The Vote Efforts Ahead of Election Day

From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency:

"Cytrynbaum, 17, a senior at Golda Och Academy in West Orange, New Jersey, says the Jewish value of tikkun olam, or repairing the world, got him interested in the climate crisis, which led him to the get-out-the-vote movement. “Any social justice issue you care about is going to be impacted by how much people get out to vote,” he said. 

Cytrynbaum said the Jewish community has a long history as a relatively powerless minority, and flourished in pluralistic, democratic societies. “If you want to stay alive as a community and stay united, we need to respect diverse opinions,” said Cytrynbaum, who is a policy co-director with Jewish Youth Climate Movement.

This September, the Jewish Youth Climate Movement announced its 2024 election drive, “Shema Koleinu,” Hebrew for “hear our voices.” The drive mobilizes members to serve as poll workers, organize voter registration drives, call voters to get out the vote, and educate voters. 

Cytrynbaum has been focusing on voter education and poll work in the week leading up to election day.

While Cytrynbaum was too young to work the polls in the 2020 election, he made a promise to himself that once he turned 16, the minimum age in New Jersey, he would sign up. Now 17, he’s recruited 14 kids to work at the polls, up from eight last year. And, within the Jewish Youth Climate Movement, he has recruited 38 people to do poll workers."

Read the full story here.