LWV & Vot-ER Announce Partnership to Promote Civic Health

WASHINGTON—Today the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS) and Vot-ER/Civic Health Month (Vot-ER) announced a joint partnership to work collectively on initiatives that promote civic health and a healthy democracy.

“Vot-ER is incredibly proud to partner with the League of Women Voters to help promote a healthy democracy,” said Dr. Alister Martin, Founder and Executive Director at Vot-ER and Civic Health Month. “Healthcare providers like me across the country see on every shift that we need to go upstream of our clinics and hospitals and address the structural determinants of health that impact our patients. Our partners at the League of Women Voters deeply understand this reality.”

“We are proud to partner with Vot-ER to achieve a healthier democracy,” said Dr. Deborah Ann Turner, board president of the League of Women Voters of the United States. “Our shared goal of making democracy work for everyone comes from a core belief that equality of voting access leads to better health outcomes for all people. As a health care provider myself, I have seen firsthand how health care and voting rights work together to create a world where everyone can prosper.”

The partnership between LWV and Vot-ER will build on the unique strengths of each organization to support the overall mission of increased voter engagement and civic health by:

• Partnering on voter registration in health settings
• Encouraging participation in elections
• Prioritizing local elections and ongoing civic engagement
• Co-Sponsoring Civic Health Month and related activities
• Supporting the success of National Voter Registration Day

The two organizations’ work together will help tens of thousands of health professionals and hundreds of health care institutions to assist their patients to register to vote, to vote safely—especially during the pandemic, and to promote many other types of civic activities.

For over 100 years, the League of Women Voters has been a major nonpartisan, activist, grassroots organization that believes voters should play a critical role in shaping our democracy. The LWV encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

Vot-ER is a relatively new nonpartisan organization committed to a vision of healthy communities powered by an inclusive democracy. Through health care-specific voter registration resources, they provide the tools, training, and community to support a growing movement that amplifies the voices of patients, families, and health care professionals in America’s democracy. Vot-ER is also the operating partner of Civic Health Month. Civic Health Month is a nationwide celebration held each August to showcase the strengthening relationship between health care, healthy communities, and civic participation.

The COVID pandemic highlights both the issues of lack of access for the poorest communities to high-quality affordable health care and to safe, healthy voting access. Health care was already the number one issue facing American families and communities before the pandemic. The pandemic poignantly reminds us that access to high-quality health care is an issue of critical importance across the country at national, state, and local levels. Through the pandemic’s direct impact on casting our votes safely, it also brought into stark relief the need for every sector of society to help expand access to the ballot box.

Both organizations recognize that increased voting participation and civic engagement by communities struggling with health and survival issues will benefit not only the health of those community members but also our overall democracy.

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PRESS CONTACT: Kayla Vix | 202-809-9668 | [email protected]