Mayor Thomas Menino kicked off the Boston Election Department’s new public census and voting awareness program, “Everyone counts in Boston,” yesterday to about 70 people at the Jackson T Station in Jamaica Plains.
“We all learned a valuable lesson from the 2000 Presidential Election — every vote counts,” Menino said, “That’s why it is extremely important that residents respond to the city’s census, so that our records are current and residents’ voting rights are protected.”
The campaign is aimed at encouraging citizens to respond to the city census and introduces new ways of replying to make it easier for residents. The campaign will set up a form with instructions translated in 10 languages, a phone number allowing residents to confirm information and forms online via the city’s website, so residents can respond via e-mail.
“The face of Boston is changing. Today one in four of the city’s residents were born outside of the United States, and there are more than 140 languages spoken in our neighborhoods,” Menino said.
Voting and census information posters will be hung in libraries, community centers and local agencies and businesses. Information will be placed in neighborhood newspapers as well. Also, public service announcements will run on cable television. The MBTA will provide free advertising for the campaign by placing 200 cards on the T.
“Partnering with the city of Boston on this important effort is vital in making sure all residents are counted, and, most importantly, heard,” said MBTA General Manager Robert Prince Jr.
Menino said getting information around about the census is important because it protects citizens’ rights to vote in the next election. Every year, the city conducts a census that updates its annual listing of residents and voters. If residents fail to respond to the census, they are placed on an inactive voter list. The Department currently has 77,000 people on that list, Menino said.
“If after four years residents do not vote or respond to the census, they will be dropped from the voter rolls. That means they cannot vote. Once they’re dropped, they need to register again,” Menino said.
William Galvin, the Secretary of the Commonwealth, said he feels the census is a critical issue for both the city and the state.
“It is about giving the city the tools it needs to help its citizens,” Galvin said.
Menino also announced “Boston Votes 2000,” an initiative run by the Mayor’s Office of New Bostonians, recently received the City Cultural Diversity Award from the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials. The program works to involve more immigrants in civic issues and voting and has netted more than 5,000 new voters.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
