Make Voting Visible
What Is It?
Reminding your community to vote can be as simple making voting more visible by hanging flyers or having a table in a high-traffic area.
Why It Works
Sometimes all people need is a reminder that Election Day is approaching and information about how and where to vote. URGE has your community covered with flyers and other resources that will provide people with all the information they need to make their plan to vote.
How to Do It
Below are two examples of how you can make voting visible on your campus or in your community. Once you have a date, time, and location confirmed, work with your URGE staff member to create a Mobilize event for people to sign up to volunteer at these events.
Example 1: Chalk Art and Flyers
This activity can also be a smaller or larger scale event depending on your capacity. URGE will provide a flyer template with a QR code folks can scan to receive reminders about election dates, voting resources, and language on the importance of voting. With a group, you can put these flyers around town or on campus and hand them out to people you see throughout the day.
For chalking, pick an area that has a lot of foot traffic and write about the importance of voting, voting resources, and important dates on the sidewalk.
Check your campus or community’s rules first. There may be restrictions on where chalking can be done, or flyers can be placed.
Example 2: Tabling and Crowd Canvassing
Tabling means setting up a table at popular businesses, public spaces on campus or in your community, or at an event. Crowd canvassing is when you take flyers or other information and distribute it in high traffic areas. You can work with local businesses like coffee shops, laundromats, bars, barber shops, outside dorms, busy campus walkways, or wherever your community gathers.
For example, during Halloween weekend, go to the busy street where all the bars are and canvass the people waiting in line to get in. Reach out to a bar or event space hosting a themed night and ask if you could table at the event. Halloween weekend is RIGHT before Election Day, so it’s the perfect time to get people ready to vote!
What to Bring
Work with your URGE staff contact to secure URGE swag, like fun stickers or buttons, plus our flyers with information about voting. If you are tabling, you can also pass out “Care Kits” which can include Plan B, condoms, dental dams, lube, KN-95 masks, drink covers, pregnancy tests, ovulation tests, and pads.
Note that if you anticipate a lot of young kids at your location (a park, community baby shower, etc.), think about getting some candy and candy to pass out to steer them away from grabbing condoms and Plan B. If kids approach the table, you can say something like, “These are for grownups over 18, but I can give you these fun stickers and some candy!”
What to Say
You can start a conversation with a simple question like, “Do you have a plan to vote this fall?”
You can incorporate some of these key messages into your conversation:
- Voting is one way we protect our community.
- Voting determines the conditions we fight for our community under.
- Voting is not an expression of loyalty to a person or system, nor is it a duty. It is a strategic tool communities use to reduce harm and protect one another.
Keeping Yourself Safe
- The best way to try to keep yourself safe is to be proactive when planning events.
- Ensure there are at least two people at the table. When choosing a spot to table, choose a spot that is very populated and highly visible.
- Be aware of your surroundings and make sure that all organizers are surveying the area, ideally in pairs.
- If someone approaches you in a negative way, the best thing to do is de-escalate the situation. They want a reaction from you. Do not give them this satisfaction. That means you should not threaten, shame, or tell them what to do.
- An example response could be: “We have differing views on this and neither of us is going to change the other person’s mind. Have a good day.” Then end eye contact and talk to someone else or show that you are busy with an activity.
