NJ PBS Announces Gotta Know Jersey: A New Multimedia Series on How and Why to Vote this Election Season from NJ Spotlight News

The logistics of voting, how a bill becomes a law, why voting matters and more, explained through videos and resources

OCTOBER 10, 2023 - NEWARK, NJ - NJ PBS, New Jersey's public television network, announced that its newsroom, NJ Spotlight News, will help constituents better understand voting and its impact on their lives and communities through a new multimedia series, entitled Gotta Know Jersey. The first videos will be posted this week at NJSpotlightNews.org/njdecides and more will follow the next few weeks on the site and the NJ Spotlight News YouTube channel. The digital content is also planned to be distributed to colleges, universities and high schools across the state.

In New Jersey and across the country, there is a historically low turnout at the polls during non-presidential election years. This special digital news series aims to inform New Jersey voters about the logistics of voting and demonstrate how their voice matters. Gotta Know Jersey consists of easy-to-understand videos about why New Jersey is important to the country during voting cycles, what legislators do, how a bill becomes a law and how the government works. Watch the first installments of the series and access other related resources here.

"Being a part of the process is important," says NJ Spotlight News Special Projects Editor Colleen O'Dea. "Voting leads to legislation that affects our daily lives, from establishing the minimum wage and healthcare mandates to not having to pump our own gas. But you need to be in it to win it, so to speak, and vote for decision makers that share your perspective on these issues. This project will help people better understand the process and hopefully embrace ownership of it."

"Gotta Know Jersey is a fresh take on voting that explains the process in layperson's terms, so that every age-eligible resident, from seasoned voters to students, can better understand the process," said Sr. Managing Editor Jamie Kraft. "This digital content is part of our extensive, multimedia NJ Decides 2023 portfolio of election news and resources, including live Election Night coverage on November 7."

NJ Spotlight News is an award-winning multiplatform news organization that provides reporting from across all 21 counties in New Jersey and beyond through its NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi newscast on NJ PBS, a robust website, social media platforms, daily newsletters and community engagement events. Learn more at NJSpotlightNews.org.

Major funding for NJ Spotlight News and the NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi newscast is provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the William Penn Foundation, PSEG Foundation, the Fund for New Jersey, The Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation, RWJBarnabas Health, NJM Insurance Group, New Jersey Education Association, Orsted, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ, New Jersey Realtors and Wyncote Foundation.