By Sarah Bishop:
After years of declining participation at the polls, a new generation of young voters has arrived. There have been millions of new voters between the ages of 18-29 casting ballots in the last three election cycles.
Tonight, Writers/Artists/Musicians (WAM) is teaming up with the Coalition of Economic Justice (CEJ) at The Vault to present "Rock The Vote," in an effort to raise political consciousness ahead of the November elections.
This free event is open to the public and includes a musical performance from Chris Milam and politically-themed art and poetry from a plethora of local artists, including: Chuck Tingley, Zoe Holloman, Charlie Ertel, Kaitlin Frisicaro, Stephen Coppola, Mark D. Donnelley, Ph. D., Jessie Siobahn, Brooke Reynolds, Hillel Goral, Jessie Siobahn Lamprecht, Sam Sacco, Susan Marie and Andrew Stanek.
WAM and CEJ, along with a number of other community and faith-based organizations, are dedicated to building political power at a grassroots level and providing the tools necessary to register, educate and mobilize the community.
As such, 2011 Voter Fact Sheets will be distributed at the event and all are invited to listen to interviews of candidates for city and county positions and read their compiled responses on a wide-range of issues in this year's Voter Guide.
"An educated and active citizenry is the only way that we can realize a more vibrant and robust democracy," says Micaela Shapiro-Shellaby of CEJ. "This event is a demonstration of the intrinsic value of civic engagement through a variety of different mediums --voting, education, and varying artistic expression."
Rock The Vote is scheduled to begin at 7pm. For more information, check out: www.wambuffalo.com.
We certainly need to to encourage as many citizens as possible to do their civic duty and vote. A new wave of voter repression is alive and well in many states that are under Republican control. All kinds of gimmicks are being used to make it harder to vote for the poor, minorities, and even the elderly. Despicable behavior by a group bent on retaining control by limiting the voice of our citizens.