Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez urges ‘inactive voter’ turnout during Syracuse visit
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stopped in Syracuse Monday in an effort to mobilize “inactive Democratic voters” as part of her Project Reactivation. The project identified over 100,000 voters across New York state at risk of being purged from state voter registries.
Ocasio-Cortez and her Field Director Destiny Cruz detailed her team’s plan to call, write letters and knock on doors of those they’ve identified as “at-risk voters.”
“People oftentimes who don’t vote, it’s a lot of the time not their fault,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “It’s that our government and our representation doesn’t reach out to them, and so why would someone show up for a system that doesn’t show up for them?”
The pair shared their plans to the “hand-picked” audience of local politicians, members of the Syracuse Democratic Socialists of America chapter and the New York Working Families Party gathered in All Saints Church.
The state classifies a voter as inactive after not voting in two consecutive elections or being unresponsive to the Board of Elections’ change of address letters, which Cruz said often deregisters college students.
Ocasio-Cortez and her team identified over 6,000 inactive registered Democrats in Syracuse, with a majority of voters concentrated in the Westside, including part of Syracuse University’s campus. In a time when Ocasio-Cortez said voting rights are under attack, the Congresswoman’s initiative looks to build a habit of voting.
“To think that we are insulated or immune to that here in New York state is wrong. We cannot take our rights for granted, we cannot take our right to choose for granted,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “We cannot take our right to vote for granted. Our civil rights must be defended by using them.”
Monday’s event acted as training for audience members, who are being asked to take part in the initiative. Throughout the next five weeks leading up to Election Day, Ocasio-Cortez encouraged attendees to begin pushing for those at risk of inactive voter status to take action.
“The historical establishment of the Democratic Party has neglected and ignored a lot of working-class New Yorkers across the state, when we talk about our outreach and our organizing,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And we are here to change that starting today.”
New York State Senator Rachel May, who sat in the audience, told The Daily Orange that students often fail to change their addresses when they arrive on campuses, leading to decreased voter turnout.
“I think students have more to lose by not voting because whatever policies we’re putting in place now, that’s going to affect students for decades,” May said.
After asking college students in the crowd to raise their hands, Ocasio-Cortez said many may “unknowingly” fall into the inactive voter status after moving away from their homes for four years, meaning they’re at risk of being purged from voter files.
“You constantly say that youth need to turn out to vote, but you’re making it harder for youth to vote,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And so it’s our job to be able to turn out these folks and target these inactive voters.”
Tomasz Saarloos, who recently became the president of SU’s chapter of College Democrats, attended the event alongside other college students. Saarloos said it was impactful hearing Ocasio-Cortez speak about current issues, including voter roll purges and provide tangible solutions.
A crowd of over 100 attendees cheers and claps for Rep. Ocasio-Cortez as she first appears to the Syracuse crowd. Before she left following the presentation, the crowd chanted “AOC” and gave her a standing ovation. Avery Magee | Development Editor
The Congresswoman’s stop was the third in a campaign across upstate New York, with previous stops in Buffalo and Ithaca. Ocasio-Cortez was joined by New York State Assembly candidate Maurice “Mo” Brown, Jasmine Gripper, NYWFP’s state director, and J. Moczara, a member of Syracuse’s DSA chapter.
Brown said Ocasio-Cortez’s visit had been a “long time coming” after first hearing talks of her appearance during the primary elections in May and was happy to be a part of the workshop.
The visit, Brown said, represents Syracuse’s “new progressive wave,” a trend he believes will continue. He said local voters have also called for these “new kinds” of politicians, citing Mayor Sharon Owens and himself as examples.
Before Ocasio-Cortez’s visit, she spoke with Mayor Owens, who she said will work with Project Revocation to send letters to all inactive registered Democrats in Onondaga County.
After her call to action to attendees, Gripper emphasized NYWFP’s distinct ability to speak to voters and mobilize.
“Unity is our strength,” Gripper said. “We understand the power. We were created to be labor and community groups and individual activists coming together to build a collective force for working families against the establishment.”
Syracuse City Auditor Alexander Marion said he was excited to hear about Ocasio-Cortez’s visit and welcomes any political leader who decides to visit Syracuse, especially those working to elect more “progressive champions.”
“I think that (Syracuse) is clearly representative of a wider vision that aggressive champions aren’t being elected just in select areas,” Marion said. “They are coming up through a lot of different places across the country in a lot of communities. Syracuse is no stranger to that.”
Moczara, a steering committee member in DSA who also spoke during the workshop, said the opportunity to talk at the Project Reactivation event meant “everything.”
During their speech, Moczara highlighted the importance of mobilizing voters in Syracuse’s East Adams neighborhood, divided by the Interstate 81 highway. The historically Black neighborhood is part of Onondaga County, which Moczara said needs more attention from politicians and voters.
“I love my community. I’m from Onondaga County, born and raised,” Moczara said. “It’s my community, and I think that it’s really important to fight.”
Moczara encouraged attendees to speak to people in the East Adams neighborhood to hear their concerns, so incoming politicians can better serve them in the future, especially amid ongoing construction projects.
You constantly say that youth need to turn out to vote, but you're making it harder for youth to vote. And so it's our job to be able to turn out these folks and target these inactive voters.Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
For Rev. Fred Daley, the pastor of Syracuse’s All Saints Church, Ocasio-Cortez’s visit and the workshop’s message meant something bigger — standing up against injustice by voting.
When Daley initially announced the event to church members during his weekend service, many of whom attended the workshop, he emphasized the “moral obligation” to vote.
Daley said he’s read many headlines about war and broken communities, so seeing such a diverse group come together proved to him that there’s still a “power of love.”
“Jesus was crucified not because he was a nice guy, but because he challenged the structures and systems of injustice and oppression,” Daley said. “He challenged the power house on top to become of service and not to be served. And so, if we’re going to be faithful to that gospel of Jesus, that’s what we’re about.”
In Jan. 2o26, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested two members of the All Saints Church congregation — José Criollo and Adrian Ramirez, both of whom were in attendance.
Ocasio-Cortez directly addressed the pair during her introduction.
“(Through) community organizing and coming together to ensure that when this community stood up to ICE and rallied for the release of José and Adrian, we’ve been able to protect our community and keep us together,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Daley emphasized the pain he felt and continues to feel for Criollo and Ramirez, as well as those who still remain in ICE custody.
“It’s happening all over the country in every little town and village. And that’s evil. That’s cruelty,” Daley said. “It has nothing to do with securing our borders. Nothing to do with protecting us from crime. These folks are hardworking folks who are doing a lot of work that nobody else wants to do.”
Gripper said topics that may have been “radical in the past,” like abolishing ICE or introducing universal childcare, are now more frequently accepted nationwide, proving working together creates real political and societal change.
“We’re shifting what’s possible right now,” Gripper said. “I think shifting the narrative that comes first before we actually win the policy, and I think we’re on the cusp of winning some big policy for our people.”
Organizing can be lonely, Brown said, but doing it alongside others can foster change, as Ocasio-Cortez encouraged at the workshop.
“A lot of what we are trying to do here is send the message that it’s not just about winning elections, it’s about how we win elections,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
