Unite and Rise Day of Action

Ridgewood, N.J. – August 8, 2026 – for immediate release.  The League of Women Voters of Paterson, NJ and the League of Women Voters of Ridgewood, NJ co-hosted an overflow crowd for a “Unite and Rise Day of Action” on Saturday, August 8, at the Ridgewood Public Library.  

The League of Women Voters of the United States (“LWVUS”) had called on all local leagues to engage as many voters as possible on August 8, the anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  The goal was to engage at least 8.5 million voters, which represents 3.5% of the United States electorate. That percentage was identified by the Carr-Ryan Center at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. According to the research, no democratically-elected government has failed to repel the forces of tyranny when 3.5% or more of the electorate is engaged in positive action to uphold voting rights.

Debra Hannibal, President of the Paterson League, worked with Kumiko Suzuki, a coordinator of voter services for the Ridgewood League, to organize a postcard-writing event at the Ridgewood Public Library.  Approximately 50 community members attended. Participants used colorful markers and highlighting to attract the attention of voters, working from an address list of low-propensity voters in Paterson, NJ, and a short script directing voters to go to Vote411.org to “plan their vote.”  President Anne Burton Walsh of Ridgewood explained that the mission of the League is, in part, to get out the vote because elected officials are more responsive to their constituents in districts with higher voting turnout. The attendees wrote out and addressed 500 postcards in under the allotted 2 hours. 

Students from Bergen County Technical High School, Ridgewood High School and George Washington Middle School, and Mahwah High School, were in attendance, in addition to several college students. A resident who had learned about the event from the Unitarian Society asked, “when is the next one?”

To learn more about the League and League events, residents of Paterson and surrounding towns can visit the Paterson League of Women Voters on Facebook, and residents of Ridgewood and environs can visit www.lwvridgewoodnj.org