At 90, Levin still casts a long shadow among non-voters
WESTWOOD In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson inked the Voting Rights Act, eliminating discriminatory barriers and ensuring that every eligible American would retain the right to cast a ballot.
Eight years later, a 56-year-old Santa Monican set up a small card table outside of Canter’s Deli in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, and with a stack of voter registration applications, she began enrolling her fellow Americans to be a part of the democratic process.
Sylvia Levin hasn’t stopped since. The nonagenarian is passionate about the electoral process and firmly believes that every American that has the right to vote should involve themselves in one of the key attributes of democracy. In a time when voter apathy is high and turnout is considerably lower in the United States than in European countries — about 50 percent for presidential elections — the average number of citizens registered has slowed substantially.
In the beginning, Levin registered an average of 20 people a day, reaching a peak of 60 a day in 1996 when Sen. Bob Dole waged a campaign against incumbent President Bill Clinton. Today, that number has dropped to about four voters registered a day.
The reason is due in part — according to her son, Chuck Levin — to the fact that people have been able to register themselves without a deputy registrar since 1979.
But the numbers don’t dissuade Levin, who is perhaps even more active now in the registration drives than in the early years during which she signed up for her first hundred voters. Her efforts have turned into a full-time volunteering responsibility, scouting in front of post offices, boutiques and farmers’ markets in four Westside locations, six days a week.
She wants to show voters that registering is easy and, according to a sign on her table, “it takes two minutes.”
“I’m still going strong and I will continue to go strong,” Levin said.
Monday marked the end of a four-day birthday celebration for Levin, who turned 90 years old on Friday. The start of the birthday festivities coincided with the presentation of a proclamation to Levin by the Los Angeles City Council, honoring her 34 years of community service.
During her time as a deputy voter registrar, Levin has registered an estimated 46,000 voters — a California record — and spoken to more than 460,000 people from her booth.
Levin celebrated the end of her birthday on Monday by doing what she knows best — registering voters in front of the Federal Building complex in Westwood. The snow white-haired woman sat behind a small card table set up in front of the post office, with a stack of voter registration applications ready to go. The table was cluttered with cards, flowers and cake as several post office regulars that took notice it was Levin’s birthday stopped by bearing gifts.
She’s quite the popular lady. “It’s not the same if I walk by and she’s not sitting there,” said Robert Neely, who works in the Veterans Affairs office in the federal building.“There’s something missing when she’s not out here.”
Levin cracks jokes with the familiar faces that stop by, many congratulating her for the recent commendation by the LA City Council. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Levin is a diehard Yankees fan, often getting into friendly tiffs with Neely’s cowork-er, a Dodgers fan. Similar interactions take place at the three other locations where Levin sets up.
She follows the same volunteer schedule every day without fail, commuting by bus to spend four hours a day, six days a week registering voters. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, Levin sits outside the Federal building’s post office; Fridays are set aside for the Malibu post office; Saturdays are spent outside Brick Lane on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice; and Sundays are for the Westwood Village Farmers’ Market.
In every location, a business owner allows Levin to store her table and other belongings inside their establishment.
Politics is taboo at the table — a golden rule for Levin, who never discriminates a voter based on their party affiliation.
“That’s my goal — to get these people to register,” Levin said.
Murray Gomer spent a few minutes registering to vote on Monday. The 86-year-old resident of Westwood walked to the post office with his friend, who pointed out Levin after reading an article about her in the LA Times last week. The friend turned to Gomer and informed him that it was time to register.
“I think she deserves it,” Gomer said of the LA City Council resolution.
The recognition bestowed upon Levin on Friday was the third in the past nine years. In 1998, former state Sen. Herschel Rosenthal presented Levin with a resolution, and in 2001, former Secretary of State Bill Jones inducted her into the state’s Voter Participation Hall of Fame.
“My mother’s accomplishment of setting up her card table and registering more than 46,000... and in this way expanding democracy is a wonderful example of how a dedicated volunteer contributes to our community,” Chuck Levin said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 18, 2007. Read the original PDF.