Devils Announce “Go Vote, Jersey”

As promised, here is the information on the new “Go Vote, Jersey” program unveiled by the Devils via press release on September 14.

The program is designed to “help educate and encourage fans to vote” and will provide resources to citizens through a “virtual voting hub.” This hub will give “information, facts, deadlines and additional resources regarding the election and voting process.” The website for that can be found at https://prucenter.com/vote.

As mentioned in my previous post, “Prudential Center will partner with the State of New Jersey, the County of Essex and the City of Newark to serve as a hub fort civic activity this election cycle.”

There will be “ballot drop boxes for voters to safely and securely return their ballot.” There will also be a voter registration drive held on September 22 on Championship Plaza outside of the building “in conjunction with National Voter Registration Day.” In addition to that, in “the week leading up to Election Day, Prudential Center will serve as a satellite office of the Essex County Clerk for residents who did not receive their vote by mail ballot and need one.”

Finally, “on Election Day, Newark residents who opt for in-person voting can cast their ballot or drop their ballot off” at the arena.

Of course, “the final vote for approval of the Board of Elections is pending, with the anticipation that it will be complete in the near future.”

Devils, HBSE and Prudential Center Managing Partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer said: “Ahead of the upcoming election, we are proud to partner with the City of Newark and State of New Jersey to make Prudential Center available as a safe, easily-accessible option for citizens in our community to exercise their right to vote. It has always been important for us to share the Prudential Center’s incredible resources with our community and as such, we are excited to uphold our collective civic responsibility to help citizens cast their ballot, however they may choose.”

In addition to this, “the Devils and Prudential Center will create brand-specific content on the voting hub and across all social channels to drive awareness to the “Go Vote, Jersey” movement, including videos, player PSAs, tutorials, podcasts and graphics. All elements will focus on the call to action to vote.”

To this end, Devils’ President Jake Reynolds said: “The sports and entertainment platforms that we have through the Devils and Prudential Center allow us the opportunity and availability to serve our community. No matter who you cast your ballot for, we all have the ability to exercise that fundamental right to go vote. We are proud to have our group help organize, educate and serve as a civic location in the process.”

The press release points out that “Elections across all levels of government are vital for various reasons including funding, essential services and community impact. Voting gives everyone an easy and impactful outlet to become part of the implementation of policy.”

New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way added: “We are proud to partner with the New Jersey Devils and the Prudential Center to educate voters about the general election, register new voters, and ensure that voting is safe and accessible for all. Especially as we continue to respond to this pandemic, we appreciate every opportunity to work alongside organizations in our communities to reach voters where they are and ensure that they have the correct information to participate in our democracy this fall.”

Once again, the site to visit is https://prucenter.com/vote as it is a “one stop shopping resource for the upcoming election.” The press release notes that Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment wants to encourage all to exercise their right to vote, no matter where your political affiliations lay.

Prudential Center to Serve as Polling Station

Well, it’s been long-time, no-see around here, but we do have some Devils-related news to get to here that I thought I’d throw out in one post.

Firstly, in a relatively minor note, Amanda Stein is reporting on the Devils’ official “Inside the Devils Blog” that prospect Fabian Zetterlund has been loaned to HC Vita Hsten of HockeyAllsvenskan in Sweden.

The 21-year-old forward had just completed his first season in North America with the Binghamton Devils of the American Hockey League. He had 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) over 49 games for Binghamton in 2019-20.

The other news, also reported by Stein, is that Prudential Center will be a polling site for the 2020 General Election. This announcement – which is “pending a final vote by the Essex County Board of Elections” – was made yesterday by Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka and Jake Reynolds, Devils President.

Devils owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer have been doing a lot as of late to combat systemic racism and other societal ills. Baraka had this to say about the two: “Having Josh [Harris] and David [Blitzer] and of course the New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center folks to be engaged with the City of Newark period. They’re always a great partner of ours, whether it’s helping us deliver food or operations for children or hockey in our neighborhoods, all the kind of things that they do, this is just an extension of that.”

Stein reported that Reynolds added: “We’re so incredibly appreciative of the city of Newark in the state of New Jersey, being able to join us as partners in this civic engagement. This continues the commitments that our managing partners, Josh Harris and David Blitzer have made in so many ways to help drive the community.”

Stein said that, in the week leading up to Election Day, the Rock “will serve as a satellite office of the Essex County Clerk. Residents who did not receive their vote by mail ballot and need one” can get one there. She also noted that “on Election Day, Newark residents who opt for in-person voting can cast their ballot or drop their ballot off. In addition, and in conjunction with National Voter Registration Day, Prudential Center will host a voter registration drive September 22 on Championship Plaza.”

Mayor Baraka said that “without the New Jersey Devils commitment to doing this we have no location, so we are indebted to them for always being a part of the city. There’s probably no other place in the county that we could have this other than at Prudential Center, so if [Josh Harris and David Blitzer] didn’t step up to the plate, we probably wouldn’t be here today.”

Election Day is, of course, November 3 this year, it should be noted, which does fall out of the 2020-21 hockey season, which will be starting in December for COVID-19-related reasons.

Stein also said that the “Devils have launched the “Go Vote, Jersey” non-partisan campaign which will center around brand-specific content, including players public service announcements, tutorials on how to proceed to Prudential Center and podcasts among other related content. The campaign is designed as an education and awareness campaign.” Visit https://prucenter.com/vote, to learn more. There are “a myriad of information, facts and deadlines” as Stein said.

The “Go Vote, Jersey” campaign being run through the Devils Care Foundation, which is trying to bring a focus on “social injustice issues and continues the support and impact of working for the betterment of diverse communities.”

Reynolds briefly touched on the subject of what has been going on regarding suppression of voting, especially amongst minority communities, which was greatly affect Newark in a negative way. He said: “I think that’s critically important, whether it’s through what we’ve been going through as it relates to COVID, social equality or this process in terms of being able to give citizens the right to be able to go out and have their voice be heard through the voting process.”

He continued: “The Devils Care Foundation and the Devils Youth Foundation is something that we have put a lot of emphasis and a lot of resources behind in terms of being able to bring our community together, especially the youth side and pave a path for them to understand that their voice matters, and their voice can be heard. This is is one of their fundamental rights, and we are going to partner with them, as well as with the city and the state to continue to make this a better place for them to live and raise their families.”

I will have more on the “Go Vote, Jersey” program in a future post.