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Honorable Kim Guadagno, former Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey, will visit campus for a Constitution Day discussion about increasing voter access. The event will take place on Monday, September 17 at 11:00 a.m. in The Duncan Family Sky Room on the 6th<\/sup> floor of the Mac Mahon Student Center.<\/strong><\/p>\nGuadagno spent eight years as New Jersey\u2019s first Lieutenant Governor and as the 33rd<\/sup> secretary of state. While in this position, she provided effective infrastructure for economic growth and job creation through her steadfast advocacy for businesses and corporations statewide. Her passion for economic growth can be seen in the creation of the Partnership for Action, New Jersey\u2019s multi-faceted economic development strategy and her bipartisan initiative, Red Tape Review, which reduced regulatory burdens on businesses. She is now a partner at Connell Foley in Jersey City.<\/p>\n Guadagno\u2019s discussion on Constitution Day will begin with a presentation about increasing voter access during Superstorm Sandy, which was only a few days prior to the 2012 federal election.\u00a0About 1,000 of 3,000 voting districts closed overnight, seven days before the election. Guadagno will show a video produced by the League of Women Voters (LWV) of New Jersey that highlights how she collaborated with LWV and the American Civil Liberties Union (ALCU) to respond to the issues faced in the aftermath of Sandy.<\/p>\n In summary, New Jersey, supported by Guadagno, enabled people to vote even though massive parts of the state were without power and there was concern that the people may not be psychologically ready. More than a quarter of the voting places were closed, but Guadagno\u2019s team did everything possible to ensure people could vote. Tactics included setting up mobile polling locations, extending voting hours, holding press conferences and developing a text app that allowed people to find their voting districts.<\/p>\n Communication was key to having a high voter turnout that year. \u201cWe kept an open line to everyone in charge,\u201d Guadagno said.<\/p>\n According to Guadagno, people take their democratic responsibilities seriously and this is why it is important to make voting less restrictive in order to encourage people. The less restrictive voting becomes, the more people will participate. She will discuss removing barriers that prevent young people from voting.<\/p>\n \u201cIn NJ, unlike some other states, we have active email voting for service people and civilians out of the country, we have a law that allows 17-year-olds to register if they will be 18 by the next election; we require you to sign if you want to register to vote when you get a driver\u2019s license \u2014these are just a few examples of how we make voting accessible,\u201d said Guadagno.\u00a0\u201cWe also allow the use of mail in ballots for any reason.\u00a0Not just if you are out of town.\u00a0There is simply no reason not to exercise your franchise.\u201d<\/p>\n The goal of the event is to encourage young people to take advantage of the many resources available to them and then, ultimately, vote in elections.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all have different points of view on many issues but on the issue of voting we all agree we want fair, open and transparent elections.\u00a0Our brothers, sisters, sons and daughters from every background fought for that right.\u00a0Our young people should exercise that right,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Constitution Day is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Emory Edwards, interim director of the Guarini Institute for Government and Leadership and director of corporate, foundation and government relations, at (201) 761-6048.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Honorable Kim Guadagno, former Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey, will visit campus for a Constitution Day discussion about increasing voter access. The event will take place on Monday, September 17 at 11:00 a.m. in The Duncan Family Sky Room on the 6th floor of the Mac Mahon Student Center. Guadagno spent eight years as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":7318,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,5,2,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-current-students","category-faculty-staff","category-future-students","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n