An Invitation to NY Counties
Dear New York State Counties!
Announcing a fun and effective contest to celebrate voting and increase voter turnout in the 2024 national election.
Of the 62 Counties in New York, YOUR county could be the winner! Participating in this contest is good for democracy and good for elected officials from any and all party affiliations – we are 100% nonpartisan! Our only goal is to increase civic engagement in government in a fun way.
Worried your County is either too small or too big to win? No problem! There will be two winners – one for small counties, and one for large ones.
Winners are decided by who has the highest percentage of registered voters who actually vote. The handsome 24-inch trophy will be awarded to each winning county, along with publicity and a press conference. We will also recognize the county that has the highest increase in voter participation compared to 2020.
Who are we? Rejoice the Vote is a non-profit, non-partisan program based in Tompkins County, dedicated to cherishing our democracy.
We have ideas and some resources to share at very low or no cost on ways to educate young and old on the history of voting in the U.S., and on how to increase turnout by adding a celebratory feeling to voting.
The Votingest County Challenge is a joyous competition celebrating counties with the highest percentage of eligible voter participation. The prize is a trophy honoring those who have fought for voting rights – Dr. Martin Luther King, Rep. John R. Lewis, Mary Church Terrell, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer and Bob Moses.
The 2020 contest celebrated cities (the shift to counties starts in 2024). The winner for larger cities in NY State was Albany, NY with 75% eligible voter participation in the 2020 presidential election and Saratoga Springs won in the smaller cities category with 80% voter turnout. Congrats to the 2020 winners!
Albany press release and video
Saratoga Springs press
A note on 2022 : Due to low voter turnout in the midterm elections, no cities were awarded for being the Votingest.
The New York State voter turnout was under 50% and no individual city reached 60%. Unfortunately, these are not numbers worth celebrating. We are expanding the challenge to Counties in 2024 and hoping that we can collectively break voter turnout records and honor two counties with the largest percentage of participation. We wish to acknowledge and thank the great work of groups around the country to promote civic engagement. We especially applaud the work of young people – they give us hope for the future! So stay tuned in 2024 for The Votingest County Challenge.
1. Register your county in the 2024 Votingest County Challenge by contacting us.
2. Engage your community’s businesses and noprofits in removing barriers to voting for their employees, clients and customers.
3. Download and print our beautiful and inspiring posters.
