Bloomfield Library Awarded Funds To Promote Voting, Elections – Bloomfield, NJ Patch

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield Public Library recently received $5,000 in grant money from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.

According to town officials, the money will be used to fund events that will encourage Bloomfield residents to vote, learn information about local elections and learn why it is important to be involved in local government.

“Our municipal government is always searching for opportunities to bring in grant money to improve and expand upon services we offer residents at no cost to our taxpayers,” Mayor Michael Venezia said.

“Local government often gets overlooked but is what impacts our lives the most on a daily basis, therefore residents should know about it,” Venezia said.

All events will be streamed via Zoom for free. A schedule for these events will be shared when one is available, town officials said in a news release.

“This grant money will be put to excellent use by our Library in order to increase civic engagement among our residents,” Councilwoman Jenny Mundell said.

“An understanding of how government operates at all levels is essential to our democracy,” added Mundell, liaison to the Bloomfield Public Library. “I look forward to the informative events that the library staff will put together with this funding.”

The following events will be taking place as part of the grant program:

• Who Really Elects the President: The Workings of the Electoral College: Frank Argote-Freyre, an Associate Professor at Kean University and 2012 elector for President Barack Obama will explain the Electoral College process.
• What’s All This About “Fake News”?: Jason Luther, an Assistant Professor at Rowan University at Rowan University will explain why “fake news” spreads so easily, how to identify truth from fact, and how we can overcome it.
• Everything You Need to Know About Voting in 2020: Essex County Freeholder Carlos Pomares and Essex County Clerk Christopher Durkin will discuss vote-by-mail and answer all the questions that residents have about how voting is different in 2020.
• How Local Elected Officials Work Together: A discussion featuring elected officials at state, county, and town level about what their roles are and how they work together.

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