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Dear newspaper writer, The countdown to Election Day has begun! With just over [INSERT DAYs/WEEKS] to go until Election Day, it’s time to make sure your readers are prepared to vote! |
The League of Women Voters is working with media nationwide to be sure voters have all the information they need to participate in this election. Please use the suggested script below to reach your listeners between now and Election Day. If your station has a website, please also link to the League's election information website, VOTE411.org.
There isn't a better time to recruit members!
I don't have many more chances to impress you with the rich opportunities to recruit members during this election season. Your League phone may be ringing with people looking for the League to answer questions about voting. Great! Take just a moment to inform them about:
My local League, LWV Chautauqua County, had a talented volunteer member, Bill Parks, video one of our programs and up-load it to YouTube so those who could not attend would be able to see it on their computers. It is something perhaps that your local league could do with little effort.
Background on presentation:
Elections present voters with important choices. Whether it is a local race that will affect your community or a national race that could change the direction of the country, it is a time to consider the issues which you care about and decide which candidate you support. Even if you are under 18 and not yet eligible to vote, election campaigns offer an excellent way to learn about the people and issues that affect your future.
Candidate debates have a long history in American politics. At every level of government—from city council to state legislature, from Congress to President of the United States—candidates participate in debates to help voters understand who and what they stand for.
Pillars of a Successful League
Is your League planning candidates' debates or forums this fall? Spice it up! Make your candidates night something special. Who said it has to be a group of politicians giving lengthy talks? Invite a high school band that welcomes folks with patriotic music as they arrive.
Ask a high school student to be one of the panelists asking questions. Decorate with red, white and blue crepe paper streamers. Add balloons. Give away League pencils so audience members can keep a "scorecard" on the responses from the candidates. (Provide the scorecard.)
The League CAN have a good time!
Every fall I try to figure out a way to get people to come to a fall membership get together. The thing is, if you invite people...friends, neighbors, even family... to come to a meeting to get to know about the League of Women Voters, most will be busy.
In an amicus curiae brief, the League asked the Supreme Court to protect fair voting districts by holding that the Voting Rights Act does not require a minority community's size to meet a rigid numerical quota.