With the upcoming election year, the Hesed and Tzedek council hopes to raise the number of voting teenagers through education and voting registration drives. Hesed and Tzedek Vice President Rikki Tamir spoke on behalf of the Hesed and Tzedek Council about the reasoning behind this initiative as well as its process and goals.  

In addition to its typical fundraising and awareness spreading, such as Breast Cancer Awareness Day and Indigenous People’s Day, the council wants to focus on the Hesed and Tzedek aspect of the election. They believe that if they inform and empower the younger generation to feel like they can be civically involved, we will see a brighter future. “So,” Tamir said, “the work they’re doing isn’t just retroactive, but can be proactive.” 

The goal would be to have one or two voting registration drives this year – one around November and another in the spring. All 18-year-old students can register to vote, and starting at 16, students can pre-register to vote. Registering to vote is fairly simple: Hesed and Tzedek will print out the necessary paperwork and help students fill them out. Then the council will mail them in; students will then get a confirmation form in the mail that they need to fill out and send back in, and then they are registered to vote. Pre-registering to vote allows students to  fill out their information early so that they are automatically registered to vote as soon as they turn 18. 

The Hesed and Tzedek council is also hoping to have a Town Hall in order to inform people about some of the topics that are coming up in the election year. Students would discuss some big deciding factors for voters, such as tax reform, women’s autonomy, and voter access, so that people feel more comfortable expressing their civic selves. 

Along with the Town Hall, Hesed and Tzedek are hoping to have a speaker come this year, possibly someone involved in politics in the New York area, but they’re still figuring out how feasible that is with timing. 

Rikki Tamir thinks that this programming is important, especially during the election years. “A big part of Hesed and Tzedek is being an active civic member and understanding what it means to be responsible to your community and to your state,” she said. “Understanding how to make change through our political system is an incredibly important tool for high schoolers.”

Other than Rikki, most students involved in planning these programs are on the election committee. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask Eva Ungar, Noa Glazer, Caleb Creizman, or Bobby Covit.