Rocking the VOTE

By KIMBERLY M. WEYANDT

MONTICELLO, NY — “This is just the beginning; it’s only the beginning,” promised L. Monique, producer and organizer of the October 2 VOTE Jam.

Featuring the hot beats of the original DJ Smooth, the first Voices Of The Empowered (VOTE) Jam in Sullivan County encouraged young people to rock their vote. The Jam, a combined effort of Smokin’ Spoken Wordz (SSW) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was open to young adults between the ages of 18 and 25, as well as 17 year olds (who can legally register to vote), and it boasted free admission in exchange for voter registration.

“Recently, there’s been a lot of attention brought to this demographic, particularly this year, which a lot of us feel is an especially important election year,” Monique said.

“So in the same vein as Sean P. Diddy Combs, 50 Cent, Russell Simmons, Ellen DeGeneres and Leonardo DiCaprio, it was time something like this happened in Sullivan County. This is the first, and we’re very excited.”

The VOTE Jam also featured elected officials, who were each given three minutes to explain who they are, what they do and what they can do for the youth community. Sullivan County Commissioner of Elections and Democratic Party Chair Timothy Hill, Legislative Chair Christopher Cunningham, Legislators Sam Wohl and Ron Hiatt and 2004 New York State Senate candidate Sandy Oxford attended.

Young people seemed to enjoy the opportunity to speak to officials on their own terms; some yelled out the popular question, “What can you do for me?”

Officials responded with, “What do you want?”

“You need to be involved so that your voices are heard, so that people who aren’t as interested in the things you’re interested in aren’t the only people we hear,” explained Sam Wohl. “It’s very important if you think there are things that you need or things that we should be doing, that you let us know, and one way you can do that is by voting. Stand up and make your voice heard.”

Hill, who boasted being one of the first 18 year olds to vote in 1972, when voting at the age of 18 was legalized, said to the young people, “I’ve been there.”

Of the near 75,000 residents in Sullivan County, Hill said only 44,040 are registered to vote, and only 4,279 within that population are between the ages of 18 and 25. He said the numbers are expected to increase before New York State’s October 8 registration deadline.

Despite the rocking beats of DJ Smooth in the neighborhood facility-turned-nightclub, the event generated only 16 registrations.

“I was surprised and disappointed,” said Monique. “Everyone I talked to seemed really excited about the event. The only problem I could imagine would have been transportation.”