Sylvia Levin
Sylvia Levin | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 14, 1917 Brooklyn, New York |
| Died | June 25, 2009 (aged 91) Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | voter registration activist |
Sylvia Levin (September 14, 1917 – June 25, 2009) was an American
Levin, a deputy county registrar, worked without pay on a strictly volunteer basis.[1]
Biography
Levin was born in
Voter registration efforts
Levin credited her son,
Sylvia Levin began working as a deputy voter
Levin spent six days a week commuting by bus to reach her work locations.[2] She became a fixture for 36 years outside several locations in the Westside. Levin could be found registering prospective voters at the same locations each week. On Sundays, she worked outside the Westwood Village Farmers' Market.[1] She set up her stand outside the post office at the Federal Building in Westwood on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.[1] Levin worked outside the post office or a bank in Malibu on Fridays, while on Saturdays she moved to a location outside the Sunya Currie jewelry store [3] on Abbot Kinney in Venice.[2]
In it estimated that Levin registered 47,000 new California voters between 1973 and 2009,[2] an individual record both in the state of California[2] and the United States.[1] Additionally, Levin is believed to have spoken to approximately 470,000 people during the 36 she spent in voter registration.[2]
Levin registered 60 new voters on a single day in 1996, a presidential election year.[1] The number dipped to an average of four new voters a day during the 2000s.[2]
Levin received official recognition for her work. Los Angeles
U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman remarked in the Congressional Record in 1997 that Levin "has done more to increase voter participation than virtually anyone we know."[3]
On Sep 14, 2007, which was Levin's 90th birthday, she was honored in a
Levin continued registering new voters right up to the time she was hospitalized on May 18, 2009.[1]
Sylvia Levin died of complications from a stroke at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on June 25, 2009, at the age of 91.[1] She was survived by her daughter, Susan Levin, son, Chuck Levin, and two sisters, Dottie Sadowsky and Daisy Neustadt.[1]
On June 30, 2009, L.A. city councilman Bill Rosendahl adjourned the city council proceedings in Levin's memory.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Pool, Bob (June 28, 2009). "Sylvia Levin dies at 91; she registered more than 47,000 to vote". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Jarvey, Natalie (June 30, 2009). "Levin, who broke voting registration records, dies at 91". Santa Monica Daily Press. Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
- ^ a b "Queen of Voting Sylvia Levin Dies at Age 91". City News Service. KNBC. June 26, 2009. Archived from the original on 2012-02-19. Retrieved July 24, 2009.