Photo Flash: THE GREAT SOCIETY Launches Broadway Voting Initiative, The Great Society Primary

In celebration of President Lyndon B. Johnson's 111th Birthday, the 'Great Society Primary' launched this morning at an event in the lobby of the Vivian Beaumont Theater. Beginning at the first preview performance on Friday, September 6, all attendees of The Great Society will have the opportunity to 'vote' for the candidate they would like to see win either the Democratic or Republican 2020 presidential primary in one of four voting booths in the theater lobby.

You can also cast your ballot online GreatSocietyBroadway.com; results will be shared following each performance at Twitter.com/GreatSocietyBwy.

In his resolution on behalf of the NAACP Mid-Manhattan Branch, Geoffrey Eric Eaton issued "A Call to Action to Encourage All Americans to VOTE." "We will be launching campaigns to educate, register and mobilize voters to the Polls in 2020 & 2021. The New York State Conference and The Metropolitan Council of New York City Branches (15) will be actively engaged in educating New Yorkers and Communities of Color on the importance of participating in the upcoming Decennial Census. In the Decennial Census in 2010, it is estimated that over 250,000 New York City residents were undercounted, resulting in the loss of billions of dollars in programs and services. This occurred in communities of color, where Blacks and Hispanics did not participate in the census count. Historically undercounted, children under age 5 are again at risk of being undercounted by up to 6.31 percent in the 2020 Census in the high-risk scenario. WE MUST DEFEAT HATE & VOTE - AND WHEN WE FIGHT - WE WIN!"

On August 6, 1965, President Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965, landmark federal legislation that prohibits racial discrimination in voting, which took effect during the height of the civil rights movement in the United States. Designed to enforce the voting rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the Act secured the right to vote for racial minorities throughout the country, especially in the South. The Act is considered to be the most effective piece of federal civil rights legislation ever enacted in the country.

Before select performances, representatives from voter registration partners will be available to register new voters in the lobby.