CareVote
Page updated in October 2012 with the newest information for "Voterizing" your agency!
The Providers' Council and the CareVote Campaign want to work with you to design and implement a plan that will encourage as many people as possible to vote in this important election.
Plan to "Voterize" in 2012, and make the spirit of this civic engagement effort a daily part of meeting your mission in this critical election year!
Here's some key information to help nonprofits like yours voterize now:
- Getting Started
- Voter Registration for Staff, Board, Clients, & Consumers
- Voter Education
- CareVote Materials Available in late Summer & Fall 2012
- Important Fine Print
- Key Dates
IMPORTANT UPDATES
OCTOBER 15, 2012
Wednesday is the deadline to register to vote to be eligible to vote in the Nov. 6 election! If you mail in a form, please ensure it is postmarked on or before Wednesday, October 17 to make sure you make the registration deadline!
To register to vote:
- Use the state's mail-in voter registration form.
- Use the Providers' Council and Rock the Vote's co-branded voter registration form.
- Visit your local city or town hall and register to vote in person. Look up your city or town hall's phone number and address at the state's website.
OCTOBER 3, 2012
Join Providers' Council partner Nonprofit VOTE for a webinar entitled "Nonprofits Get Out The Vote: Countdown to Election Day" next Thursday at 2 p.m.
Learn about the sector's pivotal role in the Nov. 6 election, specific strategies to use with nonprofits, examples from local nonprofits and tips and tools you can use in the final weeks before Election Day.
Council President & CEO Michael Weekes will join National Association of Community Health Centers Senior VP for Public Policy Research Daniel Hawkins, Voto Latino President/CEO Maria Theresa Kumar, Pew Center on the States Associate Lauren Forbes and other nonprofit leaders. Register today!
SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 - TODAY IS NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION DAY!
The deadline to vote in the November 6 General Election is less than a month away! In order to be eligible to vote in the Nov. 6 General Election, YOU MUST REGISTER TO VOTE ON OR BEFORE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17th.
There are three easy ways to register to vote:
- Use the state's mail-in voter registration form.
- Use the Providers' Council and Rock the Vote's co-branded voter registration form.
- Visit your local city or town hall and register to vote in person. Look up your city or town hall's phone number and address at the state's website.
SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
Next week, join our national partner, Nonprofit Vote, for its monthly webinar series. This month, they focus on what your nonprofit can do in the days and weeks leading up to Election Day to help ensure that your clients, constituents and community members have the information they need to successfully cast a ballot. Discussion will focus on strategies and tactics for nonpartisan, nonprofit GOTV efforts.
The webinar will take place next Thursday on September 20, 2012. Find out more and RSVP at Nonprofit Vote's website.
SEPTEMBER 5, 2012
Tomorrow is the State Primary in Massachusetts!
Please visit your local polling place and vote in tomorrow's election. If you are registered as a Republican or Democrat, you may take your party's ballot in the primary election; if you are registered as an unenrolled voter, you may select either ballot at the polling place.
Look up your local polling place here.
AUGUST 17, 2012
Our members are helping to encourage voting all over Massachusetts!
Just last week, Northeast Arc held a "Your Vote Counts!" event attended by more than 90 people who asked questions, provided feedback and learned about the electoral process. The group also participated in "Track the Vote," a national campaign designed to encourage voting in the nonprofit sector that the Providers' Council is participating in with national partner Nonprofit VOTE.
###
See below for information and tools you can use. Contact Bill Yelenak for more information on any of these or if you have additional questions.
- Create a plan for voter participation activities (registration, education, getting out to vote). Contact Bill Yelenak to get ideas of what you can do at your agency.
- Confirm support from the Board of Directors and Executive Director/CEO. A plan with the best chance of success begins by getting buy-in from your agency's leaders.
- Download our campaign flyer, make note of the important dates and post it in a visible location around your office.
- Become a CareVote Captain and/or endorse the CareVote campaign by downloading this form, filling it out and sending it back! E-mail it to carevote@providers.org or fax it to 617.428.1533.
- Appoint an internal person to coordinate voter activities with the Providers' Council and CareVote. Contact Bill Yelenak and share that person's name so we can add them to our e-mail list.
VOTER REGISTRATION: STAFF, BOARD, CLIENTS AND CONSUMERS
- Voterize! Combine voter registration with normal activity such as orientation of new hires, intake, home visits, community meetings, visits with parents, etc. Bring voting forms to all your summer events or other times when there will be a lot of people ready to sign up and vote. Request them from the Secretary of the Commonwealth's office.
- Put voting awareness messages and our flyer in key locations around your office
- Make registration forms easily available. In addition from getting them from the Secretary of the Commonwealth, they can also normally be acquired from your city or town hall.
- Designate one of your staff persons to acquire and then deliver forms to appropriate local election office(s) instead of letting people send in forms themselves. This way, you can ensure forms are being completed and delivered.
- Announce your voter registration campaign and alert local media. Let Bill Yelenak know if you want help writing a release.
- Sponsor a nonpartisan election event (candidate forum, debate, issue education). Want advice on how to do this? Contact Bill Yelenak.
- Contact the media. A trip to the elections office is a potential news story. Take a camera and give a good photo to your local paper, which your representatives and senators read! The Council can help you write a release.
- Contact the Election Department to bring in a sample voting machine for your lobby or a special event. This is a way to get new voters familiar and comfortable with the act of voting.
- Put election information in employee communications, like electronic newsletters or in paycheck envelopes. This is some of the most read information your agency sends out!
- And don't forget -- nonprofits can advocate for or against ballot questions!
RECEIVE MATERIALS FROM THE PROVIDERS' COUNCIL
The Council has all kind of materials to provide to members. Please ask us for:
- CareVote buttons
- CareVote posters
- Newsletter articles you can modify for your own use
- A template for small cards you can produce with voter registration information. Good for off-site consumers/clients and staff or payroll stuffers
- Leaflets and other pamphlets on how to get forms, how to fill them out and how to return them.
In order to get new materials when they are distributed, make sure you sign up as a CareVote partner.
OTHER TOTALLY IMPORTANT STUFF!
- Keep it legal. Avoid perceptions of "politicizing" this campaign. Make it a voluntary, non-partisan effort and ensure people don't feel pressured or coerced to support one candidate or another.
- The Secretary of State has registration forms in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian, Khmer, Haitian Creole, as well as in English. Ask them for voter forms here.
- Periodically ask whether the board and staff have updated their voter registration. If they move, they must re-register. If you are unsure of your status, the Council can look up your voter information and verify your address.
- Send information on your agency to candidates running for office. Invite all candidates to your programs for a tour.
- Check out our national partner, Nonprofit Vote, for more information.
- Wednesday, October 17 - Deadline to Register for the General Election
- Tuesday, November 6 - General Election
CareVote is an initiative of the Providers' Council. Thanks to the Nonprofit VOTE for this checklist, which we have adapted. Visit them at their website.
