Help Your Community Vote
Why Vote?
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Voting gives us a voice
A vote cast is an expression of the values that matter most to you and a way for you to have a seat at the table. We cannot take that for granted. Many people throughout history dedicated their lives to fighting for the right to have that seat at the table, to have a say in who our leaders are.
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Your vote is consequential
Elections are often won by a handful of votes, especially at the local and state level. Your vote directly makes a difference in who is elected, to represent your community, and the numbers in that election may be closer than you think.
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Who we elect matters
Whether it’s policy affecting taxes, immigration, healthcare, education, housing, or ongoing environmental issues like the Great Salt Lake, every Utahn is affected by the decisions politicians make. Especially impacted are the most vulnerable populations within our communities: for many, certain policies implemented by our lawmakers could mean trouble getting food on the table or the loss of coverage needed to get lifesaving care.
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Your vote is a vote for your family, your jobs, your community, and your future
Voting signals an investment in our communities: It’s a way of connecting to and caring about our neighborhoods, our government, and the direction of public policy. Your community deserves to be represented well by a lawmaker who listens to their constituents, and voting is a way to fight for exactly that.
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Voting is a form of accountability
Voting is the most effective way to hold your elected officials responsible for the decisions they’ve made and the way that they’ve conducted themselves in office. It shows that you are paying attention, and it’s a way of reminding them that they work for you. If they don’t do a good job, then they need to be fired.
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Democracy requires our participation
Voting is one of the most direct ways to participate in our democracy, and we need to actively engage for democracy to thrive.
Toolkit
Ways to increase voter turnout in your community:
Connect people to election resources.
- Circulate helpful resources and reminders on your socials and in your group chats.
- Send them the link to Utah’s voter registration portal. Direct them to their county clerk’s office. Help them research the candidates running in their area.
- Make it clear that you are a resource that they can come to if they have questions. Even if you don’t know the answer, you can find the answer together, which is always better than looking for it alone.
Make a voting plan with your friends.
- Plan a time to fill out or return your mail-in ballots together, make a plan to vote early, or bring a friend with you to the polls on election day.
Encourage your loved ones who may feel unmotivated, or like their vote doesn’t matter.
- Have an intentional conversation where you listen to their concerns and express your perspective about how important voting is.
- Gently pushback on any defeatism by offering examples of why voting is important, the issues at stake in this year’s midterm election, or offering any help/info they might need that will get them to the polls on election day.
Host a voter registration party.
- Get creative! Host a themed party where you can invite a wide berth of friends, many of whom may be civically engaged, many who may not be, and have voting themed decorations, a costume theme, etc.
- You can provide voter registration forms, help friends look up their current representatives, educate folks on voting requirements in your state, voting deadlines, and the importance of voting.
Use your platform, any platform.
- If you host a book club, a craft night, your birthday party, performing at an open mic, etc., you can use that as an opportunity to remind your friends, colleagues, and audience to vote (and, depending on the event, you can even provide voter registration forms). This can be brief and casual! Everything helps.
- You don’t have to tell people how to vote, just help remind them how important it is and help connect them to resources/ make it as easy as possible for them to do so.
Help with candidate research.
- Help friends look up the candidates running in their area.
- Send them articles about their incumbents, and send the BU Progress Report to anyone who wants to know how we rated them this last Legislative Session.
- Attend candidate events or message candidates with any questions that you may have about their goals or qualifications.
Suggest a PowerPoint night.
- Your power point night doesn’t have to focus solely on voting, but you can always make it the focus of your presentation: why voting is important, who’s running in your area, how to vote, important issues, etc.
Volunteer to canvass.
- Canvass for a candidate in your area that you believe in!
- Or for an organization, like Ignite, where you can help your neighbors get registered (and meet more of your community in the process).
BURRN document with more community involvement ideas and opportunities.
Open the BURRN documentGet Involved
Protect the vote
