The following is a guest blog authored by Nonprofit Voter Empowerment Project Flagship Partners Clarissa Unger, Students Learn Students Vote Coalition Executive Director and Tyler Sterling, NAACP National Director of Mobilization
We are Tyler Sterling with the NAACP and Clarissa Unger with the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition. Like you, we are nonprofit leaders who are always looking for new ways we can mobilize our communities and help them make their voices heard. Vote Early Day provides an opportunity to do this work in an exciting and meaningful way. Being partners in this civic holiday has helped us advance our mission and grow this movement, and on Vote Early Day’s Nonprofit Day of Action we hope you will join us and celebrate this fall too!
Vote Early Day is a nonpartisan movement of nonprofits, election leaders, media companies, businesses, and others working to ensure all Americans have the tools to vote early in person or by mail. This civic holiday—built in the same model as National Voter Registration Day—is a tentpole moment for partners of all stripes to engage with voters and urge them to cast their ballots before Election Day.
This fall, partners will celebrate Vote Early Day (Friday, October 28th) by building an event that is meaningful to their organization and impactful for local voters. Nonprofits across the country will organize creative opportunities to encourage people in their communities to vote early, including events at early voting locations, parades to ballot drop off locations, digital voter education panels, educational forums to share information about how to vote early, and more.
Why Should Nonprofits Get Involved?
#1 – Give Your Community the Tools to Vote Early
When people wait until Election Day, any number of things—from long lines to last-minute problems to confusing election laws—can get in the way of casting their ballot. But when people vote early, they have the time and opportunity to overcome any obstacles that might come their way. Vote Early Day is the perfect opportunity to let your community know about their options to cast their ballot ahead of Election Day and give them the tools and motivation to make their voices heard.
#2 – Receive Access to Free Resources and Materials
Vote Early Day is free to participate in, and you can design a celebration that fits the needs of your organization and your community. We know you’re busy, so the Vote Early Day team provides you with all the plug-and-play tools you need. Every partner will receive access to a digital Communication and Activation Toolkit with sample social media posts and graphics, press releases, emails, activation ideas, and more tailored specifically to nonprofits. The Vote Early Day team will also mail you swag (including stickers, posters, and postcards) to expand your celebration.
#3 – Build on the Momentum of a Tentpole Moment
We know that the weeks-long push of get-out-the-vote can feel like a slog. Fortunately, Vote Early Day is an opportunity to shake things up and generate excitement! The national buzz and media attention of this tentpole moment gives you the chance to motivate volunteers and turn out voters in one big push. With over 3,000 national and local partners celebrating across the country, there also are numerous opportunities to collaborate with other nonprofits, businesses, election offices, campus groups, and more to amplify the impact of your efforts.
The stakes are high for this fall’s elections. There are high-profile contests in every neighborhood across the nation, with voters deciding who will control Congress, governors’ mansions, and other important offices up and down the ballot. We need the help of nonprofits across the country to make sure every eligible voter can make their voice heard. So, please sign up today and share this info with others in your network who might be interested as well.
The Nonprofit Voter Empowerment Project is a nonpartisan pledge campaign that was developed by Independent Sector in partnership with Nonprofit VOTE to support nonprofits as they work to increase voter participation among their staff, grantees, volunteers, and constituents in 2022 and beyond.
