Sylvia Levin
Sylvia Levin (September 14, 1917 – June 25, 2009) was an American civic and voter registration activist, who registered more than 47,000 California voters over a span of 36 years from 1973 until 2009. Government experts and analysts believe that her 47,000 voter registration total is a nationwide record in the United States and in the state of California. Levin, a deputy county registrar, worked without pay on a strictly volunteer basis. Biography Levin was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 14, 1917, and raised in both Brooklyn and New Jersey. She relocated to southern California during the 1940s, eventually settling in Santa Monica. A single mother of two children, Levin held a variety of jobs. She worked in an aircraft plant, garment factory, at the original Los Angeles Farmers Market and as a beach attendant in Santa Monica. Voter registration efforts Levin credited her son, Chuck Levin, with sparking her interest in civics and voter participation. Chuck Levin, a Santa Monica writer and political consultant, created the First Vote campaign. The campaign registered young people to vote once the voting age was lowered to 18 years old in 1971 with the adoption of the 26th Amendment to the