UUs Mobilizing for the 2018 Midterm Elections

Living out our Fifth Principle…Use of the Democratic Process

Congregations everywhere are involved in Get Out the Vote (GOTV) activities in their communities and beyond – voter education, voter registration, voter protection, engagement with candidates, and voter mobilization for election day – are all meant to encourage informed participation in our right to be involved in elections and our right to vote.

This 2018 project is funded in part by the Unitarian Universalists Funding Program

Following are some resources, ideas and opportunities to motivate and engage your congregation. If you want to work with UUSJ or have questions contact us at GOTV@uusj.org

—————-

Page Contents-jump to section

—————-

Voter Registration and Ballot Information for All States

— Voter registration and voting deadlines
— Voter registation status Vote.org with direct link to your state’s official voter registration status page beneath the form.
— Information about candidates
— Voter ID Laws
— Downloadable voter ID wallet cards
— Information on ballot measures 

—————-

What Your Congregation Can Do

Join in phone banking – restore voting rights in Florida and more…

UUSJ has partnered with the Florida Second Chances initiative and we are promoting monthly Unitarian Universalist Phone Banking Days urging Florida voters to Vote Yes on Amendment 4.

In Florida there are 1.4 million people with past convictions who would gain the right to vote if Amendment 4—Second Chances Amendment (Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative)—is passed.  Florida is one of four states with a lifetime ban on voting for anyone who has served time for felony convictions, a law stemming from Jim Crow-era voting restrictions.

Anyone from any state can participate even from home. Sign up and invite your congregation to sign up as well. For more ideas about what you can do and when, here’s a flyer with details about the amendment and what you can do to help: Florida Amendment 4 What you can do.

Once you sign up you’ll receive a link to a 15-minute webinar and instructions.

Brigham Johnson, Board Member, UU Justice Florida, brigham@uujusticefl.org, 813-968-2972.
To schedule a calling events in Ohio contact: Susan Leslie at SLeslie@uua.org


See section below “Support a Ballot Initiative” to find states with ballot initiatives.

Increase voter turnout – Get Out the Vote  (GOTV)

First: Register voters 

UUs can assist people by helping to make sure they are eligible, registered and ready to vote on election day. Voter registration drives are about registering new voters and re-registering voters. Examples of people that may need to re-register are people with address changes (find out from your membership person who has recently moved in the congregation), name changes, or those that have been convicted of a felony but have served their sentence and finished their probation or parole.

If you are doing tabling at your congregation, you’ll probably find that most UUs are already registered, but they are very interested in learning about how to vote by absentee and other early voting options. Provide the information they need about deadlines, and how and where to go to vote early. Click here for UUSJ’s Get Out the Vote Toolkit. It includes tabling signage. 

Plan ahead. Identify a small team of people from your congregation. Get trained – sign up for your state’s election voter registration training so you can register voters. Order materials. Secure and get permission to use locations such as local fairs, a grocery store, the library, and be sure to complete your events before the registration deadline in your jurisdiction. OR find an organization like the League of Women Voters and support their efforts.

Tip: When talking to potential voters, ask them what issues motivate them, which will remind them why they should vote.

Use voter registration drive toolkits for guidance, and the UUSJ toolkit for tips and signage for your after service tabling. Here are examples:

Tip: If you visited a household once, follow up to encourage voters to go to the polls or submit their absentee ballots. The same person visiting a the household a second time is a best practice.Basic RGB

Tip: At your voter registration events, use a pledge card or voter commitment card to capture their contact information so you can follow up later. Also you can have them self-address a post card that you will mail to them. Ask registrants:

— if they would like to be contacted closer to Election Day with a reminder to vote.

— if they need assistance getting to the polls on Election Day.

— if they need child care. Maybe your congregation could provide childcare during a portion of the day for example following working hours.

Second: Turn voters out to the polls

GOTV efforts after registration are usually held within a week of the election and on election day. Activities includes telephoning, canvassing, literature drops, and on election day providing transportation to the polls, child care, etc. If you are involved with registering voters, keep records from pledge forms or other sign up forms, of registrants’ names, addresses, and contact information in order to support their participation in voting on Election Day. Recruit and schedule volunteers to make reminder phone calls and follow up with those that need transportation assistance on Election Day. Personal relationship-building is important.

Beyond GOTV – Host or attend a candidate forum – prepare your own questions

A candidate forum is a public event where candidates running for office are invited to meet community members and express their positions on issues. Whether for a local, state, or federal election, a candidate event is a great way to lift up our UU issues with the soon to be elected representatives, and the public alike. And public forums help build support for the issues that matter to your congregation, and to learn more about the candidates running to represent you.

Check out our new Guide to Questions for Candidates 2018 for ideas how you as an individual or congregation can discern on the issues that are most important to you and learn how they are grounded in our UU Principles.

NEW: UUSJ Guide to Questions for Candidates 2018

Beyond GOTV – A toolkit of more than 20 questions to ask US House and Senate candidates and tips on to

adapt questions, engage your congregation, and where to find the candidates. 

Here’s one tip: We suggest you do some “bird dogging” and find out where candidates will already be speaking and show up and ask your questions at existing events. If you want to organize your own forum, partner with a few groups so they can help get people out to the event. Here are some “How To” guides:


Whether you are organizing or attending a candidate forum, it’s important to be clear about the social justice issues that are of concern to you and your congregation and prepare questions ahead of time. 

Research and stay informed

Leading up to Election Day, prepare yourself on the candidates and issues that will be on the ballot in your area. What are the candidates’ positions and track records on the social justice issues you care about?

Learn about the current threats to democracy and voting rights. What impact do voter suppression tactics such as voter ID laws, elimination of early voting and proof of citizenship requirements have and where are they being used? What are violations of the National Voter Registration Act? What’s being done to end voting discrimination?

Use UUSJ’s Write Here! Write Now! toolkit to organize letters from members of your congregation to communicate with candidates. Letters to members of Congress on priority issues will be delivered by the UUSJ Capitol Hill Advocacy Corps.

In the DC-MD-VA area? Schedule a UUSJ advocacy training session for your congregation. Contact: advocacy@uusj.org.

Support a ballot initiative – host a call party

Not much happening in your state? Seek out states with ballot measures and offer your congregation’s support “in phone-banking. Check out the Ballotpedia website with all state ballot initiatives and much more on all aspects of elections. Here’s a link to their 2018 Ballot Measure Scorecard. Grassroots advocacy groups in Florida, Ohio, Missouri and other states have introduced ballot initiatives that will re-enfranchise former felons, reduce mass incarceration, and limit corporate influence in elections.

For more information about UU partners contact: Susan Leslie at SLeslie@uua.org

A listing of ballot initiatives and legislation (2018 out of date; 2020 to be posted when site is active for the elections) can be found at the FieldGuidetoDemocracy.org movement website.

Faith Community, Government and Secular/Community Resources

Faith Community Resources:

Voter Registration and Polling Information: 

Voter registration information for all states is available on the Vote Smart website along with information about candidate, politician and much more. Enter state to search for voter registration state-specific information.

Check your voter registation status here Vote.org. You’ll also find a direct link to your state’s official voter registration status page beneath the form.

Quick links to UUSJ partner states and DC Vote Smart pages, state election boards, and local (county/precinct) boards of election for information:

Secular Resources:

  • Vote Smart Facts Matter – candidate and politicians bios, positions, ratings, speeches, funding, voter registration information, etc.
  • Ballot Initiatives: Check out the BallotPedia website with state-by-state list of all ballot measures and much more on all aspects of elections. Here’s a link to the state  2018 Ballot Measure Scorecard.
  • Nonprofit Vote – helpful resources including monthly webinars for nonprofit organizations (like congregations) with checklists, timelines, legal guidelines, reporting forms, and more.
  • VoteRiders – Voter ID cards and Voter ID Help 844-338-8743. You can download or purchase Voter ID info cards for your state. State-by-state information about voter ID laws.
  • League of Women Voters – find a league near you here.
  • Brennan Center Voting Laws Roundup 2018 – Changes to voting laws are again poised to play a major role in state legislative agendas. Great summary of expansive, restrictive and election security bills.
  • Democracy Diminished: State and Local Threats to Voting Post-Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder (June 9, 2016)
    • This report from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund is a detailed collection of state, county, and local voting changes — proposed or implemented — during the past three years since the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder. The Court’s decision in Shelby County eliminated the provision of the Voting Rights Act that for fifty years required jurisdictions with a history of voting discrimination to submit proposed changes to a federal authority for pre-clearance before implementation. See page 33 for information about Virginia.
  • National Voter Registration Act
  • Voting Rights AFL-CIO
  • Brennan Center for Justice – Voting Rights History Resource Page

UUSJ and Reeb Project Voting Rights — 2018 Information and Training Webinar – Phone Banking for Electoral Justice

UUSJ Project Partners

UUSJ has received a grant from the Fund for Unitarian Universalist Social Responsibility. This grant gives us the opportunity to build on our 2016 GOTV project and to provide our program resources and materials, nationwide, with a focus on key states — Florida, Iowa, Maryland, and Virginia. Here is a list of our current partners:

Archive of UUSJ 2016 GOTV project

“Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.”
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
32nd President of the United States