objectives of voter education

The Role of Voter Education in Strengthening Democracy

“Democracy in the contemporary world demands, among other things, an educated and informed people.” ~ Elizabeth Bishop “The control of information is something the elite always does, particularly in a despotic form of government. Information, knowledge, is power. If you can control information, you can control people.” ~ Tom Clancy 

In the information age, when the fate of nations hinges on the choices of their citizens, voter education emerges as a beacon of hope. It’s not just an accessory to the democratic process, but rather the cornerstone upon which a thriving democracy is built. 

However, this is also an era of rapidly evolving political landscapes and information overload. In such an environment, the importance of voter education cannot be overstated. When we understand how voter education empowers citizens and strengthens democracy — and apply that knowledge at the ballot box — we ensure that the voices of the people truly guide the course of our country.

Read on to learn more about the significance of voter education and the state of civic education in America. 

What Does Voter Education Mean?

Voter education comes in many forms. It starts with a basic understanding of civics and how our electoral system is supposed to work, and it extends to researching candidates and issues before we cast our votes. 

How many times have you looked at a ballot and wondered who half of the candidates are and what they stand for? It’s no longer enough to look at a D or an R behind a name. There are many more choices on a ballot than whichever establishment candidate is running for president.

For example:

What is the function of a Secretary of State?

What does a circuit court judge do, and what is the record of the people running for this position in your area?

Who are your local school board candidates and how do they affect public education?

What are the ballot initiatives and how might they impact your life? 

These questions are much more fundamental to your everyday quality of life, and most people can't answer them. 

For example, the right to work seems like a people-powered concept, but a careful reading of what’s in Right to Work proposals will uncover that they are actually pro-business and anti-union. Whether you’re a business owner or a worker, that distinction is fundamental to how you choose to vote on such a proposal. 

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Voter Education and Candidate Research

Voter education takes various forms to ensure that citizens are well-prepared to perform their civic duties. For example, general voter education focuses on the foundational knowledge needed to navigate the electoral process. 

It includes:

Understanding the election timeline, such as key dates like voter registration deadlines, primary elections, and general elections.

Voter registration procedures like how to register to vote or update voter information.

The mechanics of voting, including how to cast a ballot, where to vote, and what to expect at the polling place.

Knowing the difference between primary, general, and special elections, and understanding their significance

Beyond the basics, voter education should equip citizens with the skills to thoroughly research candidates and their policy positions. This includes:

Candidate profiles : Accessing information about candidates running for various offices, including their background, experience, and priorities.

Policy analysis : Using tools and resources to help voters assess the policy platforms of candidates and parties.

Fact-checking and media literacy: Learning how to discern credible sources of information and identify misinformation.

Candidate forums and debates : Participating in forums where candidates discuss their views and answer questions from the public.

By providing citizens with these essential types of voter education, we empower them to make informed decisions and actively participate in the democratic process. In the current climate of abundant and easily manipulated information, these skills are more critical than ever.

The State of Voter Education in America

Ours is a country that prides itself on the power of the people. As such, the saying that knowledge is power couldn’t be more true. 

However, the state of civic education in America demonstrates that we are giving that power away. The earlier we learn basic civics, the better informed and engaged we are as a country. 

Unfortunately, most Americans couldn’t pass a standard civics test . While many states do require civics classes at the high school level, there is no federal mandate requiring education in civics . 

Many Americans don’t formally study civics or political science until they’re in college, if at all. 

According to data collected from state departments of education and the Education Commission of the States:

Only nine states and Washington, D.C. schools require a full year of civics to graduate from high school

30 states require one semester of civics 

11 states have no civics requirement for graduation

States with the highest rates of youth civic engagement also prioritize civics education

Here are four big reasons why voting matters , and why voter education matters more:

#1: Voting is the Foundation of Democracy

Democracy, as it’s known today, traces its roots to ancient Greece. It’s a system of government where power rests with the people, and they exercise it through periodic elections. However, for democracy to function, an informed and engaged electorate is required. 

The United States is a representative democracy , and this complicates matters somewhat. As we’ve seen over the past three years, knowledge of how our electoral system works is critical to ensuring that our voices are truly heard and that the people we entrust to represent our interests are doing so in an honest, transparent manner. 

This is where voter education steps in as a fundamental requirement.

#2: Voting Means Empowering Citizens

Voter education is akin to the proverbial key that unlocks the door to active participation in the democratic process. When citizens are well-informed about their rights, responsibilities, and the issues at stake, they become more confident and motivated to engage in the electoral process.

This extends to:

Knowledge of Rights and Responsibilities: Voter education provides knowledge about the rights and responsibilities of citizens. Understanding the electoral system, voter registration procedures, and how to cast a vote ensures that citizens can fully exercise their power without intimidation or confusion.

Informed Decision-Making: Informed voters make better choices. They’re better equipped to evaluate candidates, parties, and their policy positions critically. This leads to a more enlightened electorate that selects their representatives based on merit and alignment with their values rather than being swayed by personalities, empty promises, or divisive rhetoric.

Civic Engagement: Voter education extends beyond the act of voting. It encourages citizens to actively participate in civic life while fostering a sense of community and shared responsibility for the well-being of society. This can include volunteering, attending town hall meetings, and advocating for causes they believe in.

#3: Voting Strengthens Democracy

A well-informed electorate is the bedrock of a strong and resilient democracy. Here are four ways in which voter education contributes to the overall health of our democratic institutions:

Accountability : Elected officials are more likely to be held accountable when voters are educated. Citizens can monitor their representatives' actions, assess their performance, and vote them out if they fail to deliver on their promises or act against the public interest.

Reduced Polarization: Voter education encourages rational discourse and informed decision-making. When citizens understand the nuances of various issues, they are less susceptible to the polarization driven by sensationalism and misinformation.

Inclusivity: Voter education promotes inclusivity by ensuring that all eligible citizens have access to information about the electoral process. It helps bridge the gap between different socio-economic groups, reducing the risk of marginalized communities being disenfranchised.

Long-Term Planning: Educated voters are more likely to support policies that have long-term benefits for society, rather than short-sighted solutions. This contributes to the stability and sustainability of a nation.

#4: Voting Ensures that the Voices of the People Are Heard

One of the central tenets of democracy is that it should reflect the will of the people. However, this can only happen if every citizen's voice is heard and their vote counts. 

Voter education plays a pivotal role in ensuring that the democratic process remains inclusive and representative by:

Mitigating Voter Suppression: In some cases, voter suppression tactics are employed to prevent certain groups from voting. Voter education can help citizens recognize and resist such tactics, safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process.

Countering Disinformation: In an age of digital misinformation, voter education is a powerful antidote. It equips citizens with the critical thinking skills needed to discern credible information from fake news, preventing manipulation and misinformation from distorting their decisions.

Increasing Voter Turnout: A well-informed electorate is more likely to turn out to vote. When voter education campaigns are robust and accessible, voter turnout tends to increase, leading to a more representative democracy.

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Voter education is the lynchpin that holds our democracy together. It empowers citizens, strengthens democratic institutions, and ensures that the voices of the people are able to shape the destiny of their nation. In a world where information is everywhere but often misleading, voter education steers us towards a more just and equitable society.

The true power of democracy lies not just in the act of voting, but in the informed choices we make at the ballot box. Voter education isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity.

Learn more about the choices that make our country more progressive, functional, and inclusive. Good Party offers a treasure trove of candidate resources and information about exciting independent candidates running for office at all levels of government. 

POLYAS Election Glossary

We provide explanations and background information on elections, voting rights and digital democracy

Voter Education

Voter education means providing citizens of a democracy with basic information about participating in elections. Voter education is often provided by the state itself, often through a national electoral commission, so it is therefore important that it is politically non-partisan. Government departments that focus on voter education are often highly scrutinized by a third party. In addition, there are various private institutions whose mission it is to strengthen democratic values by increasing voter education. The focus is often on how to vote rather than  who to vote for. An appropriate voter education would provide citizens with knowledge regarding:

• How to register to vote - most democracies require citizens to first register as a prerequisite to voting in elections or referenda
• How to complete ballot papers - filling out ballots incorrectly can mean an individual’s vote is misrepresented in the final count or counted as invalid . Therefore, clearly demonstrating how ballots are to be correctly filled out is essential
• The electoral system - it is important that citizens know how their votes will contribute to the final result in an election. Is the election conducted under a system of proportional representation or first past the post ? Does it involve a more complicated preferential voting system?

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Election Obligations & Standards Database

Voter education.

Effective voter education efforts are crucial to ensuring that all potential voters have the necessary information not only to exercise their right to vote but also to understand and have confidence in the entire electoral process. International law is increasingly addressing the need for inclusive voter education campaigns that will ensure an informed electorate. The content of voter education campaigns should not be limited to the logistics of registering and voting but should also increase citizen awareness of their democratic rights and fundamental freedoms as well as the associated international obligations. Voter education can be provided by a number of potential sources, including state actors such as the electoral management body, political parties, and civil society. Regardless of the organization providing voter education, efforts should ensure that all potential voters—including women, minorities, and people with disabilities—have access to this information.

Relevant Obligations

• Genuine Elections That Reflect the Free Expression of the Will of the People
• Rule of Law
• State Must Take Necessary Steps to Give Effect to Rights
• Freedom from Discrimination and Equality Before the Law
• Right and Opportunity to Vote
• Equality Between Men and Women
• Right to an Effective Remedy
• Right and Opportunity to Participate in Public Affairs
• Freedom of Association
• Periodic Elections
• Secret Ballot
• Universal Suffrage
• Macro-Level Obligation
• Foundational Obligations
• Individual Rights and Freedoms
• Process-Focused Obligations

The Legal Framework and Voter Education

The election calendar and enjoyment of rights, universal suffrage, the right to vote, and voter education, the content of voter education campaigns, provision of voter education by the electoral management body, provision of voter education by civil society and political parties, freedom from discrimination in voter education, special measures, partisan and nonpartisan observation of voter education, right to an effective remedy and voter education, access to information and electoral documents.

• Key Obligations:

The principles of rule of law were promoted

• All are equal before the law, and laws should be equally enforced. [?]
• Laws must be consistent with international human rights. [?]
• States should take measures to promote the principles of the rule of law. [?]
• Laws and procedures must not be arbitrarily applied. [?]
• Suspension or exclusion of participatory rights is prohibited except on grounds established by law and which are objective and reasonable. [?]

The laws regulating elections were equally enforced and were not arbitrarily applied

The legal framework for elections was consistent with international human rights, the scheduling of elections granted sufficient time for a complete and comprehensive voter education program.

• The scheduling of voting processes must allow adequate time to successfully implement other necessary components of the electoral process. [?]
• States must take the steps necessary to give effect to human rights. [?]
• States should take steps to provide civic (including voter) education. [?]
• Voter education materials should distributed in a timely manner. [?]
• The electoral calendar should provide adequate time for campaigning and public information efforts. [?]

The state took proactive measures to promote voting by the broadest pool of eligible voters and ensure votes cast were counted

• States should pursue policies encouraging the participation of the youth in public affairs and decision-making processes affecting them. [?]

The state took the steps necessary to give effect to rights during voter education

All eligible voters were informed of their electoral rights before, during, and after election day.

• The fulfillment of universal and equal suffrage is partially dependent on the success of an adequate voter education process. [?]
• Limits placed on the right to vote must be based on objective and reasonable criteria. [?]
• Criteria restricting the right to vote must be clearly stated in law. [?]
• Voter education campaigns are necessary to ensure an informed community is able to effectively exercise the right to vote. [?]
• An adequate voter education process is necessary to ensure the electorate is able to utilize their rights. [?]

The obligations of universal suffrage and the right to vote were advanced through voter education

• Elections must be held by universal suffrage. [?]
• Every citizen has the right to vote. [?]

Voter education campaigns were responsive to the needs of the electorate

• Voter education campaigns should be designed with the aim of reaching all eligible voters. [?]
• Voter education campaigns should be responsive to the needs to the electorate. [?]

Voter education campaigns included information about the voting and registration process

• Voter education campaigns should be designed to provide sufficient information with respect to registration and the voting process. [?]
• Voters should be provided with information on the procedure by which they register to vote. [?]

Voter education campaigns included information on restrictions that may be applied to participatory rights

• Any restrictions on the right to vote are to be established in advance of election day. [?]
• Loss of the right to vote may only be imposed following adjudication by a court. [?]

Voter education efforts included information about all electoral rights, including equal suffrage, the right to vote and be elected, the right to an effective remedy, and the secret ballot

• Fulfillment of secrecy of the ballot is partially dependent on the extent to which voters understand this right. [?]
• Voter education campaigns of the state should be conducted in a manner that is impartial and consistent. [?]
• States have a duty to protect the fundamental human rights of all within their jurisdiction. [?]

Voter education was provided by the EMB and was impartial and responsive to the needs of the electorate

• Election management bodies generally bear responsibility for voter education. [?]

Civil society organizations participated in voter education

• Everyone has the right to participate in the public affairs of his/her country. [?]
• Political parties, civic organizations, and international organizations may contribute to voter education efforts. [?]
• Everyone has the right to association. [?]
• Freedom of association may be restricted under certain circumstances as are prescribed by law and necessary in a democratic society. [?]
• Everyone has the right to associate with non-governmental organizations. [?]
• States should recognize accredited NGOs and facilitate their ability to conduct their activities. [?]
• States should involve civil society organizations and facilitate their effective participation in public decision-making processes. [?]
• States should create, in law and practice, an enabling environment for civil society organizations to operate free from hindrance and insecurity. [?]
• Media and information literacy education should be promoted to enable individuals to access, understand, and critically analyze information, including online. [?]

Political parties and/or candidates were permitted to provide voter education

All citizens received voter education regardless of their race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, physical or mental ability, sexual orientation or gender identity, property, birth, or other status.

• Discrimination must not be practiced based on race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity and expression, migrant, refugee, repatriate, stateless or internally displaced status, genetic trait, mental or physical health condition, including infectious contagious condition and debilitating psychological condition, or other status at any time. [?]
• The state must perform both its "negative duty" to refrain from discrimination and its "positive duty" to prevent discrimination. [?]
• Measures should be taken to ensure that women understand their right to vote. [?]
• Measures should be taken to ensure that persons with disabilities have adequate access to civil and voter education. [?]
• Voter education should be accessible to all voters, including those with special needs. [?]
• Voter education should facilitate the participation of illiterate voters. To this end, specific methods, such as the use of photographs and symbols, should be adopted. [?]
• The state must perform both its "negative duty" to refrain from discrimination against women and its "positive duty" to prevent discrimination against women. [?]

Locations used for voter education were accessible in a nondiscriminatory manner

• Everyone has the right of equal access to any place or service intended for public use. [?]

Voter education materials facilitated voting by illiterate voters

Special measures were taken to ensure de facto equality for people with disabilities.

• Distinctions made on the basis of disabilities are to be considered discrimination. [?]
• Specific measures aimed at ensuring de facto equality for persons with disabilities should not be considered discriminatory. [?]
• Access to the media should be guaranteed to all political parties and candidates and be fairly distributed. [?]
• Women and girls with disabilities are subject to multiple discrimination. [?]

Special measures were taken, as necessary, to promote equality for minorities

• Special measures for advancing ethnic minorities or groups that have suffered past discrimination should be taken when circumstances warrant, but should not be maintained after the objectives for which they were taken are met, and should not result in the maintenance of unequal rights for different groups. [?]
• Some measures taken to ensure equitable representation of minority groups should not be considered discriminatory. [?]

The state took steps to ensure de facto equality between men and women

• Women should enjoy equality with men before the law. [?]
• States should take special, temporary measures to achieve de facto equality for women. [?]
• Where linguistic minorities exist, those that belong to such minorities should not be denied the right to use their own language. [?]
• Discrimination must not be practiced based on sex. [?]

Voter education materials were available in all official languages as well as minority languages

• Information and materials about voting should be available in minority languages. [?]

Citizens were able to participate in public affairs through nongovernmental organizations

• The participation of observers, citizen and international, may enhance all aspects of the electoral process. [?]

Observers, citizen and international, were given access to the voter education process

There was a timely and effective means of seeking redress for violations of rights, including regarding voter education.

• Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by a competent national tribunal for acts that violate his or her rights or freedoms. [?]
• Individuals must have the right to a remedy for violation of their participatory rights relating to the election process. [?]
• Remedy should be available for complaints arising throughout the electoral process. [?]
• States must enforce a remedy when granted. [?]
• Effective redress requires disputes to be dealt with in a timely manner. [?]

The media took steps to reach all segments of society, including those who speak minority languages or live in rural areas

• Media, public and private, could facilitate effective participation by persons with disabilities by providing political reporting and information in accessible formats. [?]
• To address disinformation online, self-regulation by internet intermediaries and positive measures, including independent fact-checking, public education, and media literacy campaigns, could be prioritized over criminalisation. [?]

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Equitable Civic Learning for All: How K-12 Schools Can Grow Voters

The following is adapted, with minor changes, from the CIRCLE Growing Voters report and framework published in 2022. We include recommendations for teachers, administrators, and others in the K-12 school ecosystem; jump to the recommendations here .

Schools are a critical setting for learning about elections and voting. School-based opportunities are especially important for youth who lack such opportunities in other areas, like through their personal networks or experiences with media. And as institutions that reach the vast majority of teens, K-12 schools have a critical role to play in reducing disparities and inequities in civic  learning and engagement.

Inequities in School-Based Civic Learning are an Enduring Challenge

Our cluster analysis of teens’ access to and experiences with civic learning underscores that point. While youth who we describe as “Reliant on School” were the smallest cluster (13%) of teens in our analysis, 20% of youth of color (including a third of Latino youth) fell in this category, as did a disproportionate share of white youth in rural areas. Crucially, young people are interested in learning about elections, politics, and media literacy in school—particularly when it includes opportunities for personal civic development and engagement.

For example: more than two-thirds of teens in our survey who were enrolled in school at the time said they were interested in learning and talking about the 2020 presidential election. But, as our analysis revealed, these opportunities are not equitably distributed. Among  teens who said they were interested, 69% were able to take a course about U.S. government and institutions—meaning almost a third of youth could not. Rural teens whose parents have lower educational attainment were less likely to have access to such courses.

Our survey also showed that most of these in-school civic learning opportunities take place in high school. Among teens who had the opportunity to take a course on U.S. government and institutions, half did so in high school, about 1 in 5 in middle school, and a third were able to take a course at both grade levels. There is both a need and an opportunity to start much earlier; even as early as pre-K or elementary school. Research shows that it is critical to expose young kids to developmentally appropriate civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions that are scaffolded throughout their schooling.

The differences in civic learning experiences between teens in urban and rural areas are especially notable. Teens living in an urban area were 20 percentage points more likely to have taken a course in U.S. government or institutions. They were also more likely to receive  higher quality civic education that incorporates best practices, such as deep civics content knowledge, the development of civic skills through classroom discussions on current and controversial issues, media literacy education, and the development of civic dispositions  through service learning for informed action or participation in student government.

Previous research by CIRCLE showed that 60% of rural youth perceive that they live a place that lacks accessible civic institutions and opportunities to engage— which we call a Civic   Desert . Given these disparities, it’s no wonder that half of teens which our cluster analysis describes as “Civic Learning Neglected” live in rural areas, including 20% of teens of color, and 26% of white rural teens.

It is also critical to improve civic learning and engagement in K-12 schools because less than half of youth will go on to pursue higher education: in 2020, 45% of 18- to 22-year-olds were enrolled in college. Even among those who do, our 2020 survey of 18- to 29- year-olds revealed that there are still differences in access that belie the notion of universities as bastions of civic opportunity and highlight the need to spur civic learning before and beyond the college campus. 

For example, our 2020 survey found that only half (52%) of the voting-age young people who were enrolled in a higher education institution said they actually learned about how and where to register to vote while at college. In both K-12 schools and in higher education, the inequities and inconsistencies in civic learning opportunities are an enduring challenge to working toward an equitable multiracial democracy. Both types of institutions must address those challenges, while at the same time contributing to an ecosystem that creates civic access and exposure beyond school settings.

Media Literacy Must Be a Key Part of Civic Education

Media literacy education teaches critical civic skills at a time when overwhelming amounts of content and rampant disinformation characterize the media landscape. In 2020, for example, the combination of a highly visible presidential election, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resurfacing of deep racial tensions in society drew us all even more online, as we relied on digital media for not only the news, but also connection with our community. Yet even with much of schooling happening virtually, and with these timely opportunities to examine news and media more closely, only about half of teens in our 2020 survey (53%) reported having learned about media literacy or how to analyze news and media.

As with other civic education opportunities, historically underserved communities like teens from rural areas, youth of color, and teens from lower socioeconomic backgrounds have less access to in-school media literacy education. These inequalities may partially be due to unequal broadband access across the country; our analysis of 2016 data shows that broadband access often overlaps, though not entirely, with young people’s perceptions of living in a civic desert . On the other hand, that same analysis found that, in contexts where young people perceive less civic access, digital media can mitigate that lack of access and serve as a pathway to engagement for some youth.

School Culture Matters

The cluster analysis in our CIRCLE Growing Voters report highlights that it’s not just classroom civic learning that influences whether teens feel prepared and empowered to vote: school climate was also related to exposure to learning about elections and voting. Youth in both the “Fully Supported and Engaged” and the “School-Supported and Somewhat Social” clusters reported enjoying highly supportive school climates, high levels of learning about elections and voting in school, and above-average civic engagement. However, only 25% of teens nationwide are in those two clusters, and they’re more likely to be white teens in urban areas and to have a parent with a college degree.

Our teen survey found that white and Black teens were more likely to agree or strongly agree that they felt like they belonged in their school or school community (76% and 75%, respectively) than Latino teens (69%) and multiracial teens (61%). More white teens reported feeling that students were treated equally by adults at their school than Black, Latino, or multiracial teens, and 64% of white teens agreed or strongly agreed that they had opportunities to be involved in decision-making at school—such as helping to decide things like class projects or rules—compared to 57% of Black teens, 55% of Latino teens, and 42% of multiracial teens. 

These differences by race/ethnicity highlight how school environments differ greatly in their ability to affirm young people‘s agency and voice through nurturing, democratic practices. The work of CIRCLE Growing Voters is incomplete as long as these inequities persist. A school climate that contributes to a culture of electoral engagement is one in which young people experience the building blocks of democracy. Schools must model civic behaviors that foster acceptance, productive disagreement, critical thinking, input and questioning, community-building, assigning responsibility, and demanding accountability. Teachers and staff must work side by side with young people to ensure that all elements of school life reflect these practices and values. All youth must feel like they belong and matter, not just select (and often advantaged) student groups or leaders.

To that end, a school climate that is conducive to civic learning and engagement must also be especially attentive to the needs of teens from historically marginalized communities, who must perceive that their experiences are being heard and that they are wanted and welcome in democratic decision-making. To contribute to the culture of a CIRCLE Growing Voters ecosystem, schools must also intentionally develop a deeply democratic culture. That culture will directly influence students, the types of pedagogies teachers use, and even the types of administrative and disciplinary policies at the school. It will shape whether the school strongly supports student newspapers and funding for extracurricular activities that foster deeper learning and civic participation outside of the classroom.

Deeper learning practices that foster interpersonal skills (e.g., communication and collaboration) and intrapersonal skills (e.g., self-motivation and persistence) can create a democratic and caring school climate in which students enjoy the psychological safety and openness to experience how they can work together with their peers, teachers, and administrators to address challenges and find solutions together. Recent research also emphasizes that young people need a holistic school environment that incorporates social-emotional learning outside of academic outcomes to develop personal and civic agency. As our recommendations emphasize, adults in young people’s lives—especially teachers and administrators that can mentor and create open and democratic schools—can heavily influence how young people become informed participants in democracy.

Recommendations

We’ve split up our recommendations based on which stakeholders in the school ecosystem are best positioned to implement them: instructors, administrators, school board/committee members, or students themselves. But we expect that all of these groups can and should work together to improve civic learning in their school. 

Instructors

• Incorporate nonpartisan teaching about voting and elections across curricula, so that students are exposed to information about elections multiple times in multiple settings and have a chance to solidify their identity as a voter. The Teaching for Democracy Alliance offers nonpartisan resources for various subject areas.
• Use the Teaching for Democracy Alliance Self-Assessment Matrix to consider which areas of teaching about elections and voting you already cover and where you can link the topic to standards and curricula year-round. History educators should pay particular attention to how students of various backgrounds understand different groups’ fights for voting rights across history. These lessons can clarify for young people the value of the rights they enjoy today.
• Increase the use of (multi-)media creation as a tool for teaching media literacy and civic skills —and to show that social media can be a valuable place for social and political engagement. At the same time, use both youth-created media and traditional news media in the classroom, including by partnering with local media outlets.
• Seek out and share opportunities for your students to become involved in local politics and elections, such as youth poll worker programs, youth advisory boards, or youth-adult partnerships in community improvement efforts.
• Strive to create a learning community in which everyone belongs and contributes their valuable lived civic knowledge to discourse and learning. Students can build agency and a commitment to participate in elections and other aspects of civic life by establishing their sense of belonging and engaging in rigorous civic learning and practice in school. See the Educating for American Democracy Roadmap .

Teaching for Democracy Alliance

The Teaching for Democracy Alliance (TFDA)—a coalition founded by CIRCLE to promote and support the quantity, quality, and equity in nonpartisan teaching about elections in schools—has a wealth of resources for instructors and K-12 leaders. Teachers can find lesson plans, checklists, and more; and administrators can sign the Preparing Future Voters Pledge.

Administrators

• Make clear to your educators across departments that you support nonpartisan and high-quality teaching about elections and voting for all students. You can do this by ensuring that district subject-area specialists or department chairs are providing time and sample materials for how to do this well, and/or advocating for professional development funds and opportunities that will help teachers feel confident in their teaching about elections. You can sign the Teaching for Democracy Alliance’s Preparing Future Votes Pledge to formalize that commitment.
• Most schools have a Constitution Day or History Day set aside to extend student learning about these topics. Voting should be part of the school curriculum in a similar manner, so that students can learn the history of voting and how the franchise has expanded, in part, because of past youth activism. Activities like mock elections can teach students about the practical aspects of electoral participation.
• Recruit staff at local elections offices or nonpartisan organizations to teach your students about state voting laws and how to run a voter registration drive in your school. These experts can ensure that any such initiatives comply with local election laws.
• Ensure your high school teachers and staff know about opportunities like voter pre-registration or serving as a poll worker, and provide support for educators to leverage these opportunities for learning. If these opportunities don’t exist, reach out to your local election clerks to advocate for a youth poll worker program.
• Support student journalism and free speech through school newspapers , which play a key role in helping students understand that their voices can keep leaders accountable—an important foundation for voter confidence and civic participation.
• Consider forming a student voice committee, a student spot on the school board, or other ways for students to provide input and feedback on how to increase teaching about elections and voting. Partner with a group of young people to build a proposal for your school/district that will ensure a diversity of youth experiences are represented.

School Board/Committee Members

• Ask your constituents (both students and families) how learning activities in their schools are building core skills for democratic participation. If only some students are having meaningful, relevant, and engaging civic learning experiences in the classroom, work with administrators, educators, and students to develop solutions that can expand the reach of these pedagogical practices.
• Check out our recommendations for instructors and administrators, and explore how you and your peers can support them. Create a proposal for a student voice committee, start a school newspaper, or talk to teachers about the kind of teaching you want about elections or what kind of media-making opportunities you find valuable. Partner with (or push!) the necessary stakeholders to make it happen.
• Join or start student organizations and events that can provide you and your peers a forum for discussion about community and school issues (e.g., Urban Debate League ); ways to express your views on social issues using multiple mediums (e.g., spoken word, visual arts, videos), or reporting on issues that affect the student body ( such as a student newspaper ).
• Use a class project to conduct a survey of young people in your school and discover what they want to learn about elections and voting. Bring these findings to teachers and administrators and ask for more teaching about elections and voting.
• Propose running a student-led voter registration drive and get resources and information from election nonprofits , teachers, and administrators. Your ideas and leadership will ensure that voter registration is fun, social, and easy for your peers.
• Ask your community’s elected officials to hold a town hall with students at your school so you and other students can learn more about what your government is doing and share your own ideas and concerns. You can also ask to meet candidates running for office—especially for school board and other positions that most directly shape education and other youth-centered issues.

Voter and Civic Education

Why educate voters?

In every election, voter and civic education are necessary to ensure that all constituents—men and women alike—understand their rights, their political system, the contests they are being asked to decide, and how and where to vote. For an election to be successful and democratic, voters must understand their rights and responsibilities, and must be sufficiently knowledgeable and well informed to cast ballots that are legally valid and to participate meaningfully in the voting process. Voter and civic education are even more critical in post-conflict countries, where political situations may be volatile and where elections may have an unprecedented impact on the countries’ future.

The term voter education is generally used to describe the dissemination of information, materials and programmes designed to inform voters about the specifics and mechanics of the voting process for a particular election. Voter education involves providing information on who is eligible to vote; where and how to register; how electors can check the voter lists to ensure they have been duly included; what type of elections are being held; where, when and how to vote; who the candidates are; and how to file complaints.

Civic education —a broader concept—is aimed at conveying knowledge of a country’s political system and context. Civic education might include information on the system of government; the nature and powers of the offices to be filled in an election; the principal economic, social and political issues facing the nation; the value of democracy; the equal rights of women and men; and the importance of peace and national reconciliation.

Voter and civic education can be critical in enhancing women’s participation in elections, particularly in post-conflict countries in which women have not traditionally played an active role in the electoral process. Voter and civic education should therefore be accessible to women as well as to men. The information conveyed should be gender-sensitive and designed to be relevant to women. Civic education can help enhance women’s participation in elections particularly through the dissemination of positive images of women as voters, leaders, and participants in all aspects of the political process.

In post-conflict countries, voter and civic education may be especially important because electoral processes—and even the system of government—may be new or unfamiliar to many voters. Since post-conflict countries are societies in transition, they provide an unparalleled opportunity to educate citizens on the equality of women and men, the importance of including women in all aspects of the political process, and the crucial contribution women can make to building democracy and peace.

Voter education

The goal of voter education is to make information available and accessible to all constituents. Voter education campaigns should seek to achieve universal coverage of the electorate. To do this effectively requires reaching out to disadvantaged groups as well as mainstream voters. For example, voter education should take into account factors such as high rates of illiteracy or the use of different languages in a country, even if there is only one official language. Minority groups, internally displaced persons and other marginalized segments of society should be specially targeted. Young adults eligible to vote for the first time may need special messages explaining how to register and cast a ballot. Voter education should also include publicity encouraging people to vote.

Voter education should specifically target women as well as men. It should make clear that suffrage is universal and should help create a culture in which women are encouraged to participate and are welcomed into the electoral process. In some countries it is particularly important to launch special educational campaigns aimed at women, highlighting the fact that they have the right to vote. It is often appropriate to craft special messages for women voters and to take generational issues into account when doing so. Meetings especially geared to educating women as voters may be organized as necessary. Arranging childcare so women can attend these sessions may help ensure their success. In post-conflict countries in which security remains a problem, safe resource centres should be established where such gatherings can take place. Carefully targeted voter education can also help alleviate “double discrimination”, which may occur when women are also members of disadvantaged ethnic minorities. Information on the importance of women’s participation should also target men.

A particular issue that often affects women and merits attention in voter education efforts is the confidentiality of the vote. According to United Nations standards and international human rights law, each ballot must be secret and independent. Most national laws also have provisions to this effect, though such provisions are not always enforced. Men and women must both understand that “family voting”—a practice in which one family member casts ballots on behalf of the entire family, or in which a husband and wife enter the voting booth together—is not an acceptable practice in democratic elections. Family voting is particularly likely to detract from women’s ability to cast individual and secret ballots. In its worst form, family voting constitutes a type of fraud in which women are deliberately deprived of their right to vote. If perpetrated deliberately and on a large scale, family voting can bring into question whether an election outcome reflects the will of the people.

Effective voter education campaigns start early and continue throughout the election process. Very early in the process, constituents should be informed about voter registration procedures so they have ample time to register. They should be told how and where to check their respective voter lists to ensure their entries are correct. Voters should be informed of the type of election to be held, the polling date and location, when the polling station will be open, and how to cast their ballots. Voter education should be provided even on election day; there should be posters and other materials inside the polling stations, and even inside the voting booths, explaining the voting process and how to mark the ballot.

The Government, and in particular the national election management body, is primarily responsible for voter education. However, the public and private media, political parties, and non-governmental and international organizations can also play a vital role in spreading the message (see boxes 5.1 and 5.2). A creative approach can help ensure information spreads further and is better understood. While some election management bodies may limit themselves to posters and direct mailings to voters, other groups might organize materials or activities such as street theatre, role playing, radio spots, jingles, songs, comic strips or Internet campaigns to ensure that all voters—women as well as men—have access to the information they need to participate intelligently in the voting process. Women’s groups can be especially effective in developing material that will resonate with women voters. It is good practice, however, to have all voter education material vetted by the election management body to ensure its accuracy. Ideally, election management bodies should also check privately generated voter education material to ensure that it is gender-sensitive.

Box 5.1 . Voter education and democracy in Kenya

During the 2002 presidential election in Kenya, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) coordinated a multifaceted voter education and training initiative that included community-based voter education, the monitoring of civic preparedness and the evaluation of pre-electoral environments with local observers. With support coming from many other organizations as well, the programmes demonstrated the popular commitment to open democratic processes at every level and reinforced the readiness for change and commitment to democracy among the Kenyan people. The elections were ultimately considered to be the freest and fairest Kenya had held up to that point.

___________________________________________

     Source : UNDP, Essentials , No. 14 (December 2003).

Civic education

Voter education is most effective when linked with a programme of civic education that puts the election into context for voters and provides an explanation of the election’s purpose, the surrounding issues, and their significance. Ideally, civic education will be built into a country’s educational system so that when children reach voting age they will already understand the basis of the national and local political and electoral systems. However, since this is not always the case, and since these systems may change over time, it is vital to have a continuing programme of civic education linked to electoral processes. Moreover, if women are disadvantaged in a country’s educational system, they may not have received the civic education necessary to enable them to participate in elections in a well-informed manner.

Box 5.2 .  Encouraging women to vote:

a poster from South Africa

____________________________________

     Source : Reproduced from the ACE Project web site at http://www.aceproject.org/main/samples/ve/vex_p008.pdf .

In many post-conflict countries, the peace settlement establishes a new form of government and a new type of electoral process. In some instances these systems can be extremely complex and characterized by intracountry variations. This underscores the special need for broad programmes of civic education in such settings.

In countries emerging from conflict, civic education should begin with an explanation of the nature and importance of the peace agreement, the advantages to be gained from national reconciliation and peace-building, and the manner in which an honest election can contribute to this process. It should communicate the advantages of democracy. It should also focus on the human rights of all citizens, especially their civil and political rights with regard to the upcoming election. Emphasis should be placed on the equal rights of women and men, both in regard to the election and more generally. Both men and women may need civic education to understand the importance of women’s full participation in the political process. In post-conflict societies, civic education can highlight the importance of women’s knowledge and expertise in the areas of reconstruction and national reconciliation, as well as the importance of their equal involvement in the political process. A key objective of civic education is to motivate all voters to participate in the elections.

The governing authorities of a country are primarily responsible for civic education. Given that elections are highly political, it is crucial that government-sponsored civic education be neutral and accurate, and that it not be seen as favouring any party or candidate. Many other groups can make valuable contributions to civic education as well. Women’s associations and other non-governmental organizations can be particularly effective in developing gender-sensitive messages that disseminate a positive image of women as full and equal participants in governance, including as politicians and national leaders. In some post-conflict countries, women’s groups have been particularly effective in educating the public on peace-building in the context of an election and mobilizing public opinion in favour of maintaining the peace. Political parties are often best placed to provide information on specific candidates and issues, including issues of special concern to women. The media can play a key role in breaking down negative stereotypes of women and encouraging their full participation. The international community can also make constructive contributions to civic education, drawing on its substantial experience in promoting women’s participation in elections in post-conflict countries.

Recommendations

Government actors should:

·          Develop and disseminate comprehensive programmes of voter and civic education, starting well before each election and continuing throughout the election process, and ensure that the material used is accurate and politically neutral;

·          Provide sufficient resources to ensure such programmes reach all citizens, especially women;

·          Initiate special voter and civic education programmes for target groups, including women, minorities, displaced persons, youth and others who may be less likely to vote, as well as programmes on women’s participation aimed at men; 

·          Ensure that election officials and voters understand that family voting is wrong and could be considered a form of fraud;

·          Review all materials to ensure they are gender-sensitive;

·          Develop gender-sensitization programmes for personnel responsible for civic and voter education.

International actors should:

·          Support gender-sensitive voter education programmes and ensure women’s full participation in their design and dissemination;

·          Support civic education programmes that include information on the benefits of democracy, reconciliation and peace-building, and on the equality of women and men;

·          Provide funding for voter and civic education programmes aimed at increasing women’s participation;

·          Develop and support voter and civic education training opportunities for women.

Civil society actors should:

·          Develop gender-sensitive voter and civic education messages that highlight the capacities of women as candidates and political leaders, encourage women to run for office, break down negative stereotypes of women, and promote women’s full participation in the electoral process;

·          Help ensure that all voters and election officials understand that family voting is not acceptable and could constitute a form of fraud;

·          Ensure that all women have access to voter education;

·          Design training programmes on women’s participation that are targeted at men;

·          Monitor the Government’s voter and civic education programmes to ensure that they are accessible to women and are gender-sensitive.

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Lesson: Becoming a Voter

  Lesson Overview In this lesson, students apply their state’s requirements for registering to vote. Students learn when and how to register, how to complete a voter registration form, and when and how to reregister. Suggested Grade Level Any grades in upper elementary through high school Estimated Time to Complete 50 minutes (approximately) Lesson Objectives After completing this lesson, students should be able to:

• explain general voting requirements,
• understand the voter registration requirements and process in their state, and
• complete a voter registration form.

Materials Needed

• Teacher Resource 1 - Vocabulary
• Teacher Resource 2 - Voting Qualifications
• Teacher Resource 3 - Who Can Vote?
• Student Handout - Voting Qualifications
• Voter registration forms from your secretary of state’s website or the National Mail Voter Registration Form ( https://www.eac.gov/voters/national-mail-voter-registration-form ) (or the 2020 NYS Voter Registration form accompanying this lesson )
• We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution , (referred to in this lesson simply as We the People…) OR the social studies text used in your school.
• absentee ballot
• independent voter
• mentally incompetent
• qualifications

Before the Lesson Approximately two or more weeks before executing this Lesson, communicate with the registrar of voters’ office of your state or the League of Women Voters ( https://www.lwv.org/ ). Or look at the Vote Early Day site which will lead to individual state information. https://www.voteearlyday.org/ Prepare for the lesson by obtaining the following materials and information:

• Voter registration forms (one per student). You can obtain these from the registrar of voters or download, print, and photocopy the form from your secretary of state’s website. (A voter registration form from New York State has been provided as an example.)
• Determine the date for a simulated election (found in Across the Grades), should you chose to do one. The simulated election can be timed to coincide with or precede the general election.
• Create or Request “I Voted” stickers—one for each student in your class. (To be used in the simulated election.)
• Research your state’s requirements for registering and voting. Find this information on your secretary of state’s website. You will use this information for Teacher Resource 3.
• Determine who can vote by absentee ballot in your state (Because of Covid-19 this may be different for the election of November 2020.)

Assign students a reading or review of a We the People… Lesson, or the social studies text used in your school. Lesson Procedure 1. Beginning the Lesson: Why Do States Control Voter Registration? Vocabulary words are listed above, as part of this lesson. You the teacher should complete whatever vocabulary activity that your class has become accustomed too, (i.e. a vocabulary-wall or a journal entry etc.). Teacher Resource 1 provides the definitions should you need it. Begin the lesson by asking students ‘who is eligible to vote in the U.S. today?’. Accept all their responses – they should all boil down to “a citizen of the U.S. who is at least 18 years old”. The term ‘citizen’ appears in the vocabulary terms, for this lessons, if you have not dealt with the subject of U.S. Citizenship yet you may choose to do so now. (There are many resources you can use: the history textbook used by your school; Lesson 23 of the Level 1 or Lesson 29 of the Level 2 or Lesson 33 of Level 3 of the We the People… text; or perhaps adapt one or two of the Constitution Day lessons found here just to name a few) As an introduction to the concept of voter registration , ask students if they had to register to attend school? (Depending on the grade level the students may not remember. You may need to remind them of this.) What might be the benefits of registering for school? Could any of those benefits be why citizens are asked to register to vote? Who do they believe sets the standard for voter registration? Why? (Record their responses on the board or chart paper or hold a mini – discussion with the students) 2. What Are the Requirements to Register to Vote? Inform students that the U.S. Constitution and state constitutions and state laws establish voter registration qualifications. Divide the class into groups of 4 or 5 students. Distribute the Student Handout to each group. Assign each group either the US Constitution section (of voter qualifications) or the State section (of voter qualifications). Determine how much time you will give the groups to deal with their sections and access to where they can find the information. When the groups are done, Give each student their own copy of the Student Handout. Then have each group share their responses, beginning with those who have the U.S. Constitution section. Each student should then copy the correct responses down on their own handout. OR If you have an older group of students:

OR if you need to move quickly:

• Ask different students to read the registration requirements and instruct the class to take notes on the Student Handout.
• Students may need help with the vocabulary terms felony, independent voter, mentally incompetent, parole, and register. Definitions can be found in Teacher Resource 1.

3. Applying Information: Registering to Vote A voter registration form is required for completion of this part of the lesson. You can obtain a voter registration form from your secretary of state’s website. Inform students that, in most states, voter registration must be completed within a specific time period before an election. Tell students the voter registration deadline in your state. (This may be effected by COVID-19 for the November 2020 election) Distribute a voter registration form to each student. (A NYS registration form has been provided for expediency in this lesson)

• Review the registration form step-by-step with students.
• Assist them in completing the form.
• Collect the registration forms.

Define and explain the term absentee ballot (referenced in Teacher Resource 1). Ask students to think of voters who qualify to use an absentee ballot. Here are some examples of possible responses:

• College students who cannot get home to vote
• Military personnel who cannot get home to vote
• Adults who cannot get to the election polls because of their jobs
• Physically disabled adults (anyone over 18)

Inform students that some state registrars remove people from the rolls of registered voters if they do not participate in elections. This means that if you fail to vote in a specific number of consecutive elections, you may have to reregister. Ask students whether a homeless person can register to vote given that they have no permanent address. (Responses will vary depending on the state.)

• Some voter registration forms allow an intersection of streets to be used as an address. This allows homeless people to register to vote.

4. Concluding the Lesson: Would Our Registration Forms Be Accepted? Conduct a mini-discussion (If dealing with an older class – bring in the variety shared in the exercise “What are the requirements to Register to Vote?”) Ask students whether the class would meet the state’s deadline for registering to vote if the forms were mailed today. Why or Why Not? (Answers will vary depending on the grade, and the state regulations.) What if anything would they change about their state’s rule for registering to vote? Why? Would their suggestion(s) violate either the U.S. Constitution, any Federal or State laws?

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Voter Information and Education Project: Republic of the Philippines

Introduction:

In early January 1997, the IFES Election Modernization and Voter Education interim report was delivered to COMELEC Commissioners and Executive Director for review and consideration. They were then briefed on its content, rationale, recommendations, and conclusions. Developed as both an internal and external resource, the report was intended to help COMELEC understand the realities of current citizen concerns and needs so that it might develop a more targeted approach to future voter education and information programs. Even though the IFES report contains some critical information, COMELEC expressed its appreciation for the report's constructive and instructive content. The Commission believes it can now better develop and target information and education programs designed to motivate and inform voters in the short term and develop more positive attitudes in the long term.

The Commissioners and Executive Director were especially interested in the analysis of the focus groups and saw the benefit of building a voter information and education program based on the focus groups findings and conclusions. They were also appreciative of the fact that IFES gave them undiluted facts and information from the focus groups without trying to "sugar coat them in any way." They stated that the IFES findings confirmed many issues for them and provided conclusions and recommendations which might help them justify appropriate funding for future modernization information and education programs.

The Voter Information section of the interim report points out the need for comprehensive programs presented in a variety of ways and offers formats which have not yet been widely used by COMELEC. The report points out two factors critical to the ultimate success of a voter information program: proper timing of the development and delivery of the programs and necessary funding.

Overall, COMELEC agreed with the outlined objectives, goals, targets and evaluation criteria of the programs as presented in the interim report. Their main concern focuses on how they can meet these goals and objectives given the many problems and issues they are currently facing. Most Commissioners and the Executive Director support the development and delivery of a comprehensive program as outlined in the interim report because they believe the lack of voter information in 1995 created suspicions about COMELEC and reduced voter confidence in both the election process and their agency.

The plaguing questions are not so much whether to support the programs in the report but how to finance, develop, and deliver the programs in a timely fashion - especially given all of the projected election preparations, new laws, development of regulations and general registration work scheduled for the current election cycle (March 1997 to May 1998). There will be many new voting procedures implemented in the 1998 election which will require regulations being written, procedures developed, and additional training programs for election day workers. All of the developmental work, planning, and preparation must be done in a timely manner so that successful and timely implementation will be assured for the May 1998 elections.

Many of the suggested programs in the interim report are new to COMELEC and there seems to be some apprehension as to whether or not the staff has the time or expertise to develop them. Media-based programs have never been developed internally. In 1992 they were developed and produced by a public relations company. In 1995, newspaper ads were actually cut and pasted from the 1992 ads. In-house work has consisted mostly of developing posters and primers and oversight of externally developed programs.

Currently there is a voter education curriculum bill pending in Congress which, if passed, will require COMELEC to work with the Board of Education to develop long term in-school education programs. This will require considerable staff time, which will be at a premium during the next year. A school-based educational curriculum was suggested in the interim report as a source and resource for developing positive attitudes toward the election system, reducing fraud, and providing long term attitude changes in the voting public. COMELEC supports the idea of this program and believes it would be especially effective in the rural areas.

Assuming the Modernization Bill (voting equipment) passes, COMELEC will be involved in writing requests for proposals; reviewing vendor proposals; contract negotiations; production and training issues; locating, recruiting, and training appropriate technical and election personnel; and planning new logistical and implementation programs for the May 1998 election. In reality COMELEC will face extraordinary challenges in handling all of these requirements in addition to implementing innovative voter information and education programs. For COMELEC the concerns are how to best meet the mandates and projected needs during the next year.

Read the Full Report.

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Voter education can make a major contribution to electoral integrity. Voter education programs disseminate balanced and objective information on what citizens need to know in order to exercise their right to vote. They provide information on voters’ rights and obligations in the electoral process and explain the importance of voting. In some countries voter education is an integral part of broader civic education programs.

Importance of a Democratic Culture

Building a democratic culture is an essential building block in promoting and protecting free and fair elections. That is why in many democracies civic education starts in elementary school. This prepares students to understand the role they can play in democracy when they become eligible to vote. It also enables them to relay information to their parents about the electoral process.

Education as a Means for Preventing Integrity Problems

Voters need to understand their rights and duties under the constitution and election law of their country so that they can meet their obligations in a responsible manner. Informed, responsible voters help safeguard electoral integrity. They do not make false statements that might disrupt or disturb an election. They do not act illegally, intimidate other voters or try to tamper with the election results. They turn out to vote because they understand the importance of participating in the electoral process.

Without sufficient education, it can be hard to eliminate abuses such as vote buying or tampering through intimidation, especially in countries with high unemployment, low incomes and security problems. Voters may not be aware of their rights or the mechanisms that are used to protect the secrecy of their vote, or what motivates politicians or their supporters to attempt to buy their vote.

A good education program will inform voters about their rights, how to exercise them and the way the electoral system works. It should also explain the effects of corruption and the need for integrity in public service and the electoral process.

Neutrality in Education

Voter education should provide sufficient information so that voters can participate knowledgeably. In a neutral way, programs should explain when, where and how to register and vote; the identity documents that must be presented; and how to mark a ballot so that it is valid and will be counted. Voter education programs cannot have any overt or implicit political content, or it becomes mere propaganda on behalf of a specific candidate or party.

In most democracies, electoral administrators are responsible for ensuring that all citizens receive basic voter information and that it is presented in a non-partisan manner. In some systems, voter education programs may be enhanced by the involvement of civil society or non-governmental organizations. In South Africa , anyone wishing to provide voter education must be accredited by the Electoral Commission. During the 2005 elections in Iraq , military personnel appeared in the televised voter information campaign, and their participation may have created a false impression about these programs. (Iraq’s Independent Electoral Commission was not aware of this initiative, but it had not set out specific instructions prohibiting the involvement of certain persons in public information campaigns.) [1]

[1] International Mission for Iraqi Elections, Final Report: Assessment of the January 30, 2005, Election Process

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Inside a G.O.P. Plan to Encourage Early Voting Despite Trump’s Attacks

Donald Trump’s falsehoods about mail voting have created a strategic disadvantage for Republicans, who must rely on Election Day turnout. The group Turning Point Action has a $100 million plan to change voters’ habits.

Tyler Bowyer, right, the chief operating officer of the conservative group Turning Point Action, training new staff members in Phoenix as part of a Chase the Vote program to persuade Republican-leaning voters to cast ballots early and by mail this fall. Credit...

Supported by

By Nick Corasaniti

Photographs by Caitlin O’Hara

Nick Corasaniti spent two days at the Turning Point Action headquarters in Phoenix, observing training programs and interviewing officials at the group.

• April 4, 2024

Inside a sprawling compound in Phoenix, leaders of the influential conservative group Turning Point Action were hatching plans to fix what they see as a mortal threat to the Republican Party: its voters’ avoidance of early voting, especially by mail, since the 2020 election.

The group’s officials, and many national Republicans, worry that Democrats have built a major strategic advantage by marshaling their voters to cast ballots early while G.O.P. voters wait until Election Day. That phenomenon stems largely from former President Donald J. Trump’s persistent falsehoods about mail voting — amplified at times by Turning Point Action officials — and the deep skepticism they have created among conservative voters.

Now an urgent search for a solution is underway, with Turning Point Action at the forefront.

The group, which began as an insurgent organization for young Republicans and has become a powerful player in right-wing politics, is aiming to raise and spend more than $108 million on a Chase the Vote program with hundreds of staff members in Arizona and Wisconsin. They will follow a few simple steps: Identify Republican-leaning voters who have not turned out in the past two elections. Make a personal connection with them over the next seven months. Then, in the group’s words, “chase the ballots.”

Political diplomacy will be required.

“You’re each going to have assignments of hundreds of people,” Tyler Bowyer, the group’s chief operating officer, explained to about 20 trainees last week. “Do you think wearing a MAGA hat attracts 50 percent of those people?”

The Chase the Vote program is one of the largest and most expensive efforts on the right to persuade Republicans to vote early. Their widespread abandonment of the practice, which was popular in both parties before 2020, means that Republican candidates are now far more at the mercy of Election Day problems like bad weather, long lines or voting machine hiccups.

At the same time, Turning Point Action’s program is still bound by strongly held conservative opinions on early voting and casting ballots by mail. The group’s officials are quick to express skepticism of the security of those practices, despite a lack of evidence of widespread fraud, and to call for tightening of election laws.

Mr. Bowyer has said publicly that his group is not trying to turn current Election Day voters into early voters. Its main focus, he says, is showing low-propensity voters — those who have not turned out in recent elections — all of the ways they can cast their ballot.

Charlie Kirk, the founder of the Turning Point empire, said in an interview: “It’s better to participate, even in that way” — early voting — “than not participate at all. That’s our argument.”

Party-wide mistrust, fueled by Trump

But improving Republicans’ early-voting turnout will be a challenge. Mr. Trump and his allies continue to argue that mail voting is rife with fraud.

During a Fox News town-hall event last month, Mr. Trump told the host Laura Ingraham, “If you have mail-in voting, you automatically have fraud.” At a rally in Wisconsin this week, he promised to “secure” elections with “one-day voting.”

The damage for Republicans in the Trump era has been clear.

In the 2020 election, when many Americans voted by mail because of the pandemic, seven million more Democrats than Republicans voted early in the 20 states that track party data, according to the United States Elections Project . In the 2022 midterms, two million more Democrats than Republicans voted early in 24 states, according to the project , an advantage built almost exclusively off mail ballots. Each of those years, Republican candidates in crucial races lost narrowly.

Just 28 percent of Republicans support allowing any voter to cast a ballot by mail if they want to, compared with 84 percent of Democrats, according to a February study by the Pew Research Center .

Mindful of this trend, the Republican National Committee this year began a Bank Your Vote program encouraging early voting. In an interview with NBC News last month , Lara Trump, the new co-chair of the committee and Mr. Trump’s daughter-in-law, said, “We have to start encouraging Republican voters to do things like voting early, trust mail-in voting.”

Still, Mr. Trump has put the party in a difficult position. The new leadership at the R.N.C., handpicked by Mr. Trump and his allies, initially signaled that it would abandon Bank Your Vote before reversing course. Top officials at Turning Point continue to criticize voting by mail, even as they lead their new Chase the Vote effort.

“The threading the needle for us, the game that we have to play, that we have to figure out: How do we get a bunch of people who are deeply concerned about these processes that are being changed and manipulated to participate in those same processes?” Mr. Bowyer said in an interview, referring darkly to the unproven conservative theory that Democrats are deliberately changing election rules to benefit themselves. (Mr. Bowyer was one of Arizona’s fake electors in the 2020 election, a scheme that the state’s attorney general is now investigating, according to The Washington Post .)

‘Soul searching’ over a Republican disadvantage

Election Day in 2022 was when Mr. Kirk realized things needed to change.

Walking into a polling place at a Phoenix church to proudly vote for Kari Lake and other Republicans, Mr. Kirk said, he was greeted by a two-and-a-half-hour line caused mainly by malfunctioning machines. Other polling sites in the area had similar problems .

Ms. Lake ended up losing the race for governor to Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, by about 17,000 votes . Roughly 19,000 more Democrats than Republicans voted by mail.

“That kind of started a lot of soul searching between our team,” Mr. Kirk said in an interview. “I asked the question, I said, ‘What could we have done better?’”

He added, referring to the weekslong period of early balloting, “We could have played better in Voting Month.”

That would seem to be a significant public shift from Mr. Kirk, who wrote an essay for Fox News in July 2020 calling mail voting a Democratic power grab and who repeatedly questioned the security of mail voting in social media posts around the 2020 election.

In the interview, Mr. Kirk stood by those sentiments. “There is understandable skepticism about filling in a precious ballot, which we take very seriously, and putting it into the mail,” he said, adding that conservatives were not fans of the Postal Service.

Still, Mr. Kirk says, Republicans should be aware that they have a “buffet line of voting options.”

In a memo sent to donors last year, Turning Point Action said it hoped to hire more than 500 full-time “ballot chasers” in Arizona and 350 in Wisconsin. If the group raises its entire goal of $108 million — officials said they had raised “tens of millions” but still had a ways to go — it plans to expand into Georgia and possibly Michigan.

A mission to change Republican voting habits

Powering the Turning Point effort is a vast data operation led by Matthew Martinez, the data director for Chase the Vote and a former field director for Ms. Lake’s campaign.

Mr. Martinez has set up shop in one of Turning Point’s cavernous rooms at its Phoenix headquarters, with 4-foot-by-6-foot whiteboards with maps of states, counties and cities speckled with handwritten numbers. He methodically carved up Arizona and Wisconsin by hand into his own precincts, wards and districts, identifying 400 to 600 low-propensity Republican voters in each precinct.

The voters who could flip those states red, Mr. Martinez argues, are not in traditional battleground areas, but rather in safely red districts like that of Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona.

“The mind-set right now for the past four years, or even more, is flip, flip, flip,” Mr. Martinez said in an interview, referring to the party’s focus on highly competitive areas. “What I’m saying is, we need to turn out our base.”

The group also plans to use its Chase the Vote infrastructure for what it calls its election integrity efforts. Mr. Bowyer said on a recent Turning Point podcast, “If you have bodies on the ground that are becoming aware of the voting habits,” then “you’re going to be able to clean the voter rolls easier.”

Chase the Vote is still in its early stages, having trained only 20 of its ballot chasers so far. And while the new hires will encounter mistrustful voters, top Turning Point officials have also faced skeptical donors, who tend to be more comfortable with writing big checks and seeing immediate returns in the form of splashy ads rather than funding the grunt work of a new and untested field operation.

Even as trainees broke for a catered lunch of In-N-Out Burger, Mr. Kirk was down the hall, meeting with four major donors.

“It’s kind of challenging the muscle memory that we can keep on just trying to flood the zone on Election Day, and keep on expecting to win, and we’re losing on the margins,” he said in the interview. “And so, if you are falling short on the margins, and you want to get to victory, and there is this massive 30-to-40-day window where the opposition is dominating and you’re not even playing, it is rational to do something in that 30-to-40-day window to then try to be conclusive and successful.”

Mr. Kirk said he planned to vote early in-person this fall, and would capture it on video.

‘We need to be Ned Flanders’

Connecting with these low-propensity voters is part of what political operatives call “relational organizing,” a trendy political term that means using personal, one-on-one connections rather than mass messaging like ads.

During the training, Mr. Bowyer repeatedly showed an image of Ned Flanders, the relentlessly genial character from “The Simpsons” who greets neighbors with a “hi-diddily-ho.”

“We need to be Ned Flanders,” he said.

Mr. Bowyer has emphasized the importance of coming across as “human” — not always an easy task within a movement fueled by Trumpian grievance.

On a recent Turning Point podcast, he urged listeners not to “be mean and angry and aggressive and tell people they’re stupid.”

He added: “Look, if we walked up to people and were like: ‘Oh, you’re on the early voting list? You’re an idiot.’ Do you think they’re more motivated to vote? Do you think they’re more motivated to become an Election Day voter? And that’s effectively what’s happening right now.”

Nick Corasaniti is a Times reporter covering national politics, with a focus on voting and elections. More about Nick Corasaniti

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