Why Tuesday? » About Why Tuesday?

About Why Tuesday?

Why Tuesday? is a non-partisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2005 to find solutions to increase voter turnout and participation in elections. Why Tuesday? was founded to honor the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Rather than just celebrate this civil rights achievement, we acknowledged that there was still work to be done, and used the anniversary as a platform to spark a national discussion about voting in America. With great sadness, we take note that today, nearly half a century after the passage of the Voting Rights Act, the United States lags behind nearly all nations in voter turnout. Using technology, Why Tuesday? provides a platform for national dialogue about the current voting system, problems with our current voting system, and solutions that can directly improve the voting process, increase registration and drive turnout.

The Why Tuesday? documentary video blog featured interviews with both 2008 presidential nominees and has been seen millions of times across multiple online and traditional media platforms, including national and international news outlets. In 2008, Why Tuesday? partnered with the nation’s leading voter registration groups to launch the Ultimate College Bowl, an effort to register every college student to vote using technology, and with YouTube, PBS and other election reform groups to launch Video Your Vote, an effort to collect the largest library of polling place video ever during the presidential election. That year, Why Tuesday? was the recipient of the Film Your Issue Award as well as being the only non-mainstream news outlet nominated for the 2008 Webby Award for Best Political Blog. In 2009, Why Tuesday? was nominated for the Webby Award for Best Activist Website, and selected as an Official Webby Honoree for Best Politics Blog and for two episodes of the Why Tuesday? documentary video blog.

Honoring the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the other civil rights leaders who courageously fought for and won the right to vote for all Americans, we embarked on our work by asking a simple question that most elected officials cannot answer: why do we vote on Tuesday, a day smack in the middle of the work week? The short answer: our process of voting is based on an outdated 19th century agrarian model that long ago lost its relevance (click for long answer). Isn’t it time for an upgrade?

Board of Directors

Founder, William B. Wachtel

William Wachtel Mr. Wachtel is the founding partner of Wachtel & Masyr, a law firm comprised of approximately 30 attorneys specializing in domestic and international business transactions and litigations. He is also the founder of the progressive Drum Major Institute, originally the Drum Major Foundation, established by his father Harry Wachtel. He is a graduate of the University of Vermont (B.A. 1975, magna cum laude) and Columbia University (J.D., 1979); Phi Beta Kappa; Harlan Fiske Scholar. Mr. Wachtel was the legislative assistant to United States Senator P.J. Leahy from 1974-75. He is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the American Bar Association.

Andrew Young

Andrew Young Ambassador Young has held a wide range of leadership positions. He was a top aide to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the civil rights movement before being elected to three terms as Representative for the Fifth Congressional District of Georgia. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed him as the United States’ Ambassador to the United Nations. Mr. Young then served two terms as Mayor of the City of Atlanta and was a Co-Chairman of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. He is Chairman of the Southern Africa Enterprise development Fund, Co-Chairman of GoodWorks International, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Drum Major Institute. The U.S. Secretary of State recently appointed him as a member of the National Security Council Study Group.

Norman J. Ornstein

Norman J. Ornstein Mr. Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. He also serves as an election analyst for CBS News and writes a weekly column called “Congress Inside Out” for Roll Call newspaper. His campaign finance working group of scholars and practitioners helped shape the major law, known as McCain/Feingold, that reformed the campaign financing system. He is also co-directing a multi-year effort, called the Transition to Governing Project, to create a better climate for governing in the era of the permanent campaign. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the Campaign Legal Center and of the Board of Trustees of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society. Mr. Ornstein was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2004. His many books include The Permanent Campaign and Its Future; Intensive Care: How Congress Shapes Health Policy, both with Thomas E. Mann; and Debt and Taxes: How America Got Into Its Budget Mess and What to Do About It, with John H. Makin. The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and What Can Be Done about It, co-authored by Thomas E. Mann, is published by Oxford University Press.

Our Team

Jacob Soboroff, Executive Director

Jacob Soboroff In addition to his work with Why Tuesday?, Jacob is part of the team working to transform America’s education system on the NBC series School Pride. He is also the founding correspondent of AMC News on AMC, reporting from film festivals, movie premieres, award shows and conferences. Previously, he contributed to NPR Weekend Edition and to the PBS/Wired Magazine series Wired Science. During college Jacob was a part-time advance man to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and presidential candidate Howard Dean. Jacob has an MA in political theory and philosophy from New York University. His website is jacobsoboroff.com. E-mail him at jacob-at-whytuesday-dot-org.

Barnett Zitron, Advisor Emeritus

Barnett Zitron Barnett recently worked at Bloomberg for Mayor 2009. He served as managing director of Why Tuesday? and as executive director of the Ultimate College Bowl, an effort to register every college student to vote. He contributes to Huffington Post. Barnett received a BA in Liberal Arts from NYU’s Gallatin School where he studied City Planning and Architecture. Check out his blog, or contact him on Twitter or Facebook.

Thomas Macker, Director of Photography and Field Producer

Thomas Macker Thomas, a Los Angeles native, earned his BFA in painting from Carnegie Mellon University in 2004. Since graduation, he has worked in various fields of production, serving as researcher, set designer, and editor for commercials, music videos and feature documentaries in both New York and Los Angeles. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Thomas recently attended the Harold Arts Residency and will be curating a related exhibit at the gallery in Chicago. He also works as an artistic and freelance commercial photographer. Click here for Thomas’ website.