Connecticut Debuts Election Day Registration

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This month's municipal elections in Connecticut marked the first time voters in the state could register on Election Day. In Connecticut, Election Day Registration is not available at polling places. Instead, each town has a designated Election Day Registration location.

Secretary of State Denise Merrill estimates that between 1,500 and 2,000 people took advantage of Election Day Registration and that it was particularly popular in New Haven. She noted, "This is the first election it's in effect and it did very well; we had no problems."

Secretary Merrill tweeted that turnout was 31% statewide--a high of 77% in Bridgewater and a low of 5.21% in Hartford.

Learn more about the states that allow Election or Same-Day Registration. 

National Voter Registration Day 2013

Last year's inaugural National Voter Registration Day (NVRD) was an overwhelming success. 1,100 organizations and 9,000 volunteers helped register over 300,000 voters nationwide.

Join this annual event and show your support for voter participation by helping your clients and constituents register to vote. Learn more about how your nonprofit can get involved or host an event by registering for our August 1st webinar.

National Voter Registration Day is Tuesday September 24th. Millions of people will vote this year. Will you help your community participate? Sign your organization up today!

Evaluating the Impact of Nonprofit Voter Engagement

What kind of impact do nonprofits have on voter turnout when they talk to their clients and constituents about voting? Who do they reach?

In 2012 we sought to answer these and other questions about the effectiveness and impact of nonprofits conducting voter engagement by having 94 nonprofits track their voter contacts. They engaged 33,741 clients and constituents across seven states, who were successfully matched to the state voter file.

Now, we're pleased to announce our findings from this first of its kind evaluation in a forthcoming report--Can Nonprofits Increase Voting Among Their Clients, Constituents, and Staff? An Evaluation of the Track the Vote Program. The results showed the impact of personal voter outreach by nonprofit service providers in raising turnout out rates among those least expected to vote and closing gaps in voter participation across all demographics.

• The clients and constituents engaged by nonprofits were markedly more diverse, lower income, and younger than all registered voters in the seven states, made up of populations with a history of lower voter turnout in past elections. 
• Voter turnout among those contacted by nonprofits was 74%, six points above the 68% turnout rate for all registered voters--with the largest turnout differences seen among young. Latino, and "low propensity voters" who campaigns typically miss. 

Learn more by signing up to receive a digital copy of the full report and detailed findings as soon as it is available.

Voting Trends: Online Registration

In 2008 only two states allowed voters to register online. By the 2012 election 13 states had online registration systems up and running. Currently, at least 14 additional states are considering legislation that would allow online registration.

Online registration helps boost registration rates among young voters. Since Arizona pioneered online registration in 2002, the registration rate for 18-24 year olds has risen from 28% to 53%. Today, over 70% of Arizona's registrations are submitted online. In 2012, five states rolled out online voter registration statewide for the first time:

• In California, during the five weeks leading up to the registration deadline, more than one million voters submitted online registration applications or updates. More than 60% of users were under the age of 35. 
• In Ohio, previously registered voters were allowed to update their registration information online and more than 100,000 individuals did so in the two months before the registration deadline--one-third in the week prior to the deadline and 13,000 alone on the day before registration closed. 
•  In Oregon, which has allowed online registration since 2010, nearly 20,000 voters registered online on the state's deadline. 

Not only is online registration convenient for voters, but it also benefits election officials. In Arizona, the costs associated with an online registration are just $0.03 compared to $0.83 for a paper registration. Online registration also reduces data entry errors and can lead to more accurate voter rolls, streamlining the Election Day experience for both voters and election officials.

Election Highlights from 2012

The 2012 election is over, but there's plenty to learn from the results. Early voting was popular, particularly in battleground states: 69% of votes in Nevada were cast early along with 53% in Florida, 72% in Colorado, and 42% in Iowa. Many voters are taking advantage of early voting opportunities and the flexibility it affords in deciding when and how to vote. These changes are causing nonprofits, communities, and campaigns to rethink the ways they approach Election Day.

Minority voters cast a record 28% of the votes, up from 26% in 2008. For the first time ever, black voters may have voted at a higher rate than white voters. While this is not yet confirmed, the rise in black turnout has been driven by increases in voter participation, not by demographic shifts, as is often the case with other minority groups. According to Pew Hispanic Center projections, Latinos will account for 40% of the growth in the eligible electorate between now and 2030, at which time 40 million Latinos will be eligible to vote--up from 23.7 million now.

Although lagging in overall numbers, youth participation is becoming a critical factor in deciding elections. 46 million youth were eligible to vote in the November 2012 election, including 16.8 million who became eligible since 2008.

Additional turnout information will be available later this year in the next installment of our America Goes to the Polls series and in the Census Current Population Survey: Voting and Registration Supplement.

Thursday: Nonprofits Get Out the Vote! Web Event

Be prepared (and get excited!) about Election Day by joining Nonprofit VOTE for a special web event:

Nonprofits Get Out the Vote! Countdown to Election Day
Thursday, October 11th at 2:00pm Eastern
The final weeks leading up to an election are critical for voters, and during that time the potential to impact turnout is enormous.

Learn more during this exciting event featuring:

• National nonprofit leaders highlighting the sector's pivotal role,
• Nonprofit-specific strategies for the final stages of an effective nonpartisan voter engagement campaign,
• Examples from local nonprofits on how to successfully incorporate voter engagement into programs and services, and
• Tips and tools tailored to the final weeks before Election Day and Election Day itself.

Guest presenters include:

• Michael Weekes, President and CEO, Providers' Council of Massachusetts and Board Chair, Nonprofit VOTE
• Daniel Hawkins, Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Research, National Association of Community Health Centers
• Maria Teresa Kumar, CEO/President, Voto Latino
• Zach Markovits, Manager, Election Initiatives, Pew Center on the States
• Local nonprofit leaders

Register now for Nonprofits Get Out The Vote! Countdown to Election Day and join nonprofits across the country as we lift our voices and mobilize our communities to vote on November 6th!

Separating Personal and Professional Election Work

Don't let uncertainty keep you on the sidelines this year! There's still time to register for Thursday's webinar:

What Nonprofit Staff Can Do: Voter Engagement at Work and Off the Clock
Thursday June 28th, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern

Outside of work, nonprofit employees are free to volunteer for political campaigns or engage in other partisan political activities. However, it is important to make clear distinctions between personal and professional efforts, as all voter engagement activities on behalf of your nonprofit must be completely nonpartisan. Join us for a range of nonprofit staff do's and don'ts as well as how to make transparent divisions between your nonpartisan work on the clock and your partisan activities off the clock.

Featured Presenter: George Pillsbury is the founder and Director of Nonprofit VOTE. Prior to starting Nonprofit VOTE, he founded and directed MassVOTE, as well as several foundations dedicated to community uplift. His work in the fields of philanthropy, social investing, and voter and civic participation spans three decades.

AIGA Get-Out-the-Vote Poster Competition

As part of their Design for Democracy program, AIGA--the professional association for design--is hosting a get-out-the-vote poster contest!

Their Get-Out-the-Vote campaign invites designers to create nonpartisan posters and videos that inspire the American public to participate in the electoral process and vote in the 2012 general election.

The initiative enables designers to engage in the public arena by contributing to a coordinated voter mobilization campaign, which is great news for nonprofits, as all of the posters can be viewed online, downloaded, and printed! Browse their current submissions or the 2008 gallery and hang your favorite(s) in a prominent location!

The Benefits of Election Day Registration

With Connecticut joining the ranks of Election Day (or Same Day) Registration states, let's review how expanded registration opportunities make it possible for more people to participate. In 2010 Same Day Registration allowed almost 640,000 Americans to register and vote in the November 2, 2010 election. Moreover, states that allow for Same Day Registration consistently lead the nation in voter turnout.

A Demos factsheet highlights stats from the 2010 midterm elections and notes that average turnout in the nine states (and D.C.) with Same Day Registration was nearly 6 percentage points higher than in states without it.

2010 was the first time the District of Columbia used Same Day Registration after enacting it in 2009, while in Idaho Election Day registrants accounted for nearly 10% of ballots cast.

More than 23,000 New Hampshire residents registered and voted on Election Day in 2010, while almost 9,000 Wyoming residents used Same Day Registration to participate.

Maine and Minnesota both employ Election Day Registration and led the nation in voter turnout in the 2010 midterm with rates 15 percentage points higher than the national average. Turnout in Wisconsin and Iowa, who both have Same Day Registration, was 10 percentage points higher than the national average.

Nearly 10,000 Montana citizens registered and voted during the state's "late registration" period, which runs from the close of the regular registration period up to and including Election Day. In North Carolina turnout in the 2010 midterm was 8 percentage points higher than in the 2006 midterm. Nearly 40,000 voters used Same Day Registration to update their voter registration records and vote, along with an additional 21,000 new registrants.

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LA County Takes Strategic Look at Elections

Last fall the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk--overseeing the largest voting district in the country with over four million voters--announced that it would completely overhaul its election system over the next five years.

Before making any decisions, however, they wanted to know what voters thought about elections. They surveyed more than 1,000 voters and more than 1,000 poll workers, as well as city clerks and county staff, asking participants what they liked about the current voting system and what they'd like to see in the future. The county also got input from various stakeholders like advocates for persons with disabilities and those with limited English skills.

Last week, the county hosted and live streamed one of their Voting Systems Project discussions, broadcasting ongoing updates and tweeting images from brainstorming sessions like a ballot receipt mockup and a sketch for drive-thru voting.

The county is sharing its survey findings with think tanks and other organizations in hopes that they may be used to design a better voting system. The goal is to have the new system functioning countywide in time for the presidential elections in 2016.

Elections are the vehicle through which citizens' voices are heard, so kudos to LA County for giving the public a say in how they can or can't cast their ballot. Read more about LA County's efforts.

New Partner Spotlight: Kids Voting USA

Please join us in welcoming Kids Voting USA (KVUSA) to the Nonprofit VOTE network! Kids Voting USA is working to secure the future of our democracy by preparing young people to be educated, engaged citizens. They operate through a national network of community-based affiliates that partner with schools and elections officials to offer students in Kindergarten through high school a range of opportunities for civic learning and engagement.

By combining classroom instruction, family dialogue, and an authentic voting experience, KVUSA is working to create long-term changes in voting behavior. Students take part in a voting experience using a ballot that mirrors that of adults with the same candidates and issues, reinforcing civic knowledge and skills.

Learn more about all of our state and national partners. 

Materials from Voter Participation Basics Webinar

Last week's webinar, Nonpartisan Voter Participation Basics for Nonprofits, is now available!

If you have questions for our featured presenter, Ashley Herad, the Civic Engagement and Public Policy Director for the Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations, you can contact her directly at ashley AT lano DOT org.

You can watch the presentation on YouTube, and if you subscribe to our channel, you'll be notified whenever new content is posted. You can also download the PowerPoint presentation and the audio portion of the presentation, or learn more about voting in your state.

Registration is now open for our April webinar, Being Nonpartisan: 501(c)(3) Guidelines for Voter Engagement Work. RSVP today!

Community Health Vote 2012

This week, one of our partners, the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) is launching Community Health Vote 2012--a national nonpartisan voter engagement campaign to establish voter engagement as an ongoing effort at as many health centers as possible.

Marc Wetherhorn, NACHC’s National Advocacy Director, blogged: "Health centers are in a unique position to help our communities be more civically engaged because the very nature of health centers makes them an integral part of how low income Americans are involved in their communities and society."

Like other nonprofits, many health centers have been doing voter engagement for years, seeing it as an extension of their mission. This year, NACHC is urging all health centers to participate because "Every health center has the power to dramatically increase voter participation in its district."

To help health centers get started, NACHC has crafted a Health Center Voter Engagement Tool Kit. Learn more about Community Health Vote and read the full blog post.

Partner Spotlight: The Arc

We're pleased to introduce our newest 2012 national partner, The Arc! The Arc is the largest national community-based organization advocating for and serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. As a leader in disability rights, The Arc boasts more than 140,000 members and more than 700 state and local chapters.

The Arc's mission is to ensure that every individual and family living with an intellectual or developmental disability in the U.S. has access to the information, advocacy and skills they need to participate as active citizens of our democracy and active members of their community. One of the ways The Arc does this is by encouraging voter participation. They are hosting a Disability Policy Seminar next month, which will include a session on best practices in voter engagement, featuring Nonprofit VOTE's George Pillsbury, as well as leaders from national disability organizations.

March Webinar: Nonprofit Voter Participation Basics

Thinking about getting started with voter engagement? Register now for our March 2012 webinar:

Nonpartisan Voter Participation Basics for Nonprofits
Thursday March 22nd, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern

Join us for an introduction to nonprofit voter engagement work! We'll cover the basics--like voter registration, voter education, candidate engagement, and get-out-the-vote efforts--and explain how to stay nonpartisan. The discussion will focus on ways maximize your impact while integrating outreach into services you already provide. Register today to make sure your nonprofit is ready for the 2012 election!

Featured Presenter: Ashley Herad is the Civic Engagement and Policy Director for the Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations.

Black History Month Voting Facts

As Black History Month comes to a close, we wanted to share some voting statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau.

11.1 million black voters cast a ballot in the 2010 congressional election, making up 12% of the electorate--a slight increase from 11 percent of the total electorate in 2006.
 
55% of eligible black youth ages 18 to 24 turned out in the 2008 presidential election, an 8 percentage point increase from 2004, and the highest turnout rate among all 18- to 24-year-olds.

65% of black citizens turned out in the 2008 presidential election, up about 5 percentage points from 2004.

Black participation rates are on the rise, but we can do even better in 2012. Make sure your organization has a plan for talking to your clients and constituents about voting in this year's elections. Get started today!

Statistics come from the U.S. Census Bureau, Voting and Registration in the Election of 2008 and Voting and Registration in the Election of 2010.

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Increasing Voter Participation One Nonprofit at a Time

Most of your New Year's Resolutions are already set (and maybe even broken), but we have one more that can't wait until next year.

In 2012 we'll elect the president, 33 U.S. senators, every member of the House of Representatives, and countless others in state and local races. 220 million Americans will be eligible to vote--including over 25 million young people and new citizens eligible for the first time. But who will turnout?

Voter turnout will be the key, not just to who wins, but to what voters and which communities are heard after Election Day. In 2010, six of ten eligible voters stayed home, and a disproportionate number were younger and lower income individuals.

Nonprofits can change that. Our sector is a powerful civic force whose status as trusted messengers and daily contact with millions of Americans has the potential to reach and engage large underrepresented populations. We are more than one million nonprofits strong and with your help the sector can close participation gaps and encourage everyone to become a voter in 2012.

So when your organization sets its 2012 priorities, make sure that voter engagement is one of them. Although your nonprofit might struggle with shrinking budgets and increased demand for services, you must still resolve to voterize your organization. Whatever challenges your nonprofit faces, voting is part of the solution. Start planning today.

Voter engagement can take a variety of forms: you can register voters, educate your clients and constituents about the voting process, or take a stand on a ballot measure. Voter engagement doesn't have to be complicated. But you have to do something.

In 2012, we will leave no nonprofit and no voter behind. Let's give nonprofits and our communities a seat at the table of democracy this November and beyond.

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NCAI Launches Native Vote 2012

November is well known for Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and daylight savings, but it's also American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month.

In that vein, we wanted to applaud the commitment and effort of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) to promote voter engagement in Native communities. Earlier this month, NCAI officially launched the Native Vote 2012 campaign during their 68th annual convention. Native Vote has been around for a while, but it has become more prominent in recent years and has helped highlight the role of Native voters in both the national and local political process.

Although the 2012 presidential election is still a year away, the timing of this launch makes it clear that civic leaders in the American Indian community recognize the need and importance of increasing voter participation rates. We hope that this move will inspire other groups across the country to begin thinking about how they plan to register, educate, and engage voters in 2012.

Make sure your nonprofit is one of them, and help ensure your clients are represented and empowered. For ideas, join our December 1st webinar Plan Ahead: Building a Voter Engagement Timeline for 2012. And for more information on the American Indian population, check out this collection of facts from the Census Bureau.

Saudi Women to Vote in 2015

Yesterday, Saudi Arabia's king granted women the right to vote and run for office in future municipal elections.

Although the change is welcomed by many activists, concerns still remain. The new law will not be relevant until the next election cycle in 2015. (Current municipal elections are scheduled for this Thursday.) And while senior religious scholars have endorsed the move, many are worried about the law's enforcement--particularly when many men prohibit their female relations from participating in legal activities.

Despite the fact that women will be allowed to participate in elections, they still do not have the right to drive and are required to have male chaperones for most public activities.

Nevertheless, this is an impressive move forward for women in Saudi Arabia, with one woman noting that "It is a good sign, and we have to take advantage of it…But we still need more rights."

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Do Nonprofit Staff Vote?

Survey says…yes!

Earlier this year, the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits (SVCN) polled 560 nonprofit staff members to learn more about the sector's voting patterns. Respondents included 114 "executive and senior managers" and 446 "line-staff personnel," described as mid-managers, caseworkers, program and clerical staff, etc.

100% of executive and senior managers reported being registered to vote, along with 92% of line-staff. Overall, nonprofit staff were 49% more likely to be registered than the average Santa Clara county resident, where the survey was conducted. In California's 2010 midterm election, nonprofit staff turnout was 21% higher than the county average. In 2008 it was 12% higher.

In California's 2010 midterm election--which featured gubernatorial candidates--turnout among nonprofit staff was 21% higher than the rate for all county residents. In 2008 it was 12% higher. These participation rates help make the case for the sector's importance and impact, and it can also send a message to elected officials.

This study is exciting because there is almost no information on the voting habits of nonprofit staff. This data, along with other emerging research is building the quantitative case for what we already know anecdotally--that the nonprofit sector is a key player in the voter and civic participation field. Although the numbers are likely inflated due to an overestimation of self-reported behavior, Census surveys have found that the margin of error for voting questions is only a few percentage points.

Still, there are gaps to close within our ranks: respondents who identified themselves as Asian or Pacific Islander were about 12% less likely to be registered than other groups surveyed. Black respondents were about 29% less likely to have voted in the 2010 midterm election.

Nevertheless, it is safe to say that many nonprofit employees are already voting. While we often focus on the voting behavior of clients and constituents, your organization can also ensure all staff members are registered to vote by including a registration form in the paperwork for all new hires or adding a reminder to paycheck envelopes. Visit our website for materials and ideas.

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