The Democracy Commitment (TDC) has desired to become a national clearinghouse of resources, publications, program designs, curricula, and project development strategies for community colleges. In an effort to make resources more accessible and comprehensive, and especially in preparation for the upcoming election, TDC has updated the resource pages on its website- www.thedemocracycommitment.org. All member institutions have access to these materials and ideas which extend beyond volunteerism embracing civic work broadly to include the democratic practice. Please visit our newly designed resource pages for information, links, tools, and guides for voter registration and electoral engagement. Also, feel free to share suggestions for more resources.
The following is a summary of what you will find on the TDC website. Please click on the link for more information:
Voter Registration Tool and Resources
Student voters are essential to our democracy. As elected officials are increasingly making decisions on topics like student debt, funding for higher education, and the economy that can have direct effect on student success, students have the power to make a difference. An important way to achieve this is to make their voices heard at the polls on Election Day. The first step is voter registration. The resources below provide information about the many voter registration tools at your disposable to make the voting process as easy and accessible as possible on your campus and for our students. We also would like to introduce a TDC Register to Vote tool powered by Rock the Vote that you can use at your convenience located on our website.
TDC Best Practice User Guides for Voter Registration:
- Best Practice Guide for Voter Registration Drives– Hosting voter registration drives on campus.
- Best Practice Guide for Get Out The Vote– Hosting Get-Out-The-Vote events on campus.
Online Tools for Voter Registration:
- Canivote.org
- TheFederal Voting Assistance Program
- Rock the Vote
- TurboVote
- Vote.org
- Vote411.org
- Voto Latino’s- VoterPal
Click Here for More Information
Electoral Engagement Resources
Electoral education and engagement are also essential to our democracy, and student engagement in the election on our member campuses is a priority. Civic responsibility and duty means more than just showing up to cast a ballot on election day— it means engaging in the community and nation, and choosing candidates who share a vision for what matters. It starts with registering students to vote, but it must continue with educating students on who and what’s on the ballot, so that when election day comes, they are ready to vote informed and empowered. Most of the resources here are for voter information and ballot/candidate information that can inform and educate student voters. We have compile documents and written Best Practice Guides to assist our members in educating and engaging community college students in the electoral process.
ADP/TDC Engage the Election 2016 Webinar Series powered by icitizen
- Webinar #1 | Becoming a Voter-Friendly Campus
- Webinar #2 | National Study of Learning, Voting & Engagement (NSLVE)
- Webinar #3 | “Demystifying Youth Voting – Why Some Young People Vote and Some Don’t”
- Webinar #4 | “Teenage Mutant Civic Hurdles: How Civic Tech Turns Students into Citizens”
- Webinar #5 | Walk2Vote: Student Empowerment through Civic Engagement
- Webinar #6 | Voter Registration & Campus Technology: Engaging Student Voters by the Thousands
- Webinar #7 | Graduating Students into Voters: Overcoming the Psychological Barriers Faced by Student Voters and Improving Student Voting Rates Using Insights from the Behavioral Sciences
- Webinar #8 | Text, Talk, Vote!
- Webinar #9 | Is your campus ALL IN? Join the Challenge to Increase Democratic Engagement
Click Here for the Webinar Information and Recordings
TDC Best Practice Guides for Electoral Campus Engagement:
- Best Practice Guide for Candidate/Issue Forums– Hosting candidate or election issue forums on campus.
Voting Information Resources- “How Do I Vote?” “Where Do I Vote?”
- Voter Information Project
- Verified Voting
- Vote411.org
Ballot/Candidate Information Resources- “Who/What’s on the Ballot?”
- Ballot Ready
- icitizen
- NBCUVoterEducation.com
Electoral Information Resources- “How Does it Work?”
- 270towin.com
- Countable: Contact Congress and Vote on Bills.
- Electionary
- Vote Smart
Click Here for More Information
Partner and Friends Electoral Engagement Resources
We have compiled a list of Partner and Friends resources vetted by TDC which offering valuable national connections with national organizations with the goal of preparing future Americans to be informed, active, and mobilized citizens in their communities, states, and the nation.
Campus Election Engagement Project (CEEP) http://www.campuselect.org
- Election Engagement Resources: http://www.campuselect.org/engagement-resources.html
Campus Vote Project http://campusvoteproject.org
- Why Student Voters Matter- http://campusvoteproject.org/why-student-voters-matter/
- Resources- http://campusvoteproject.org/resources/
- State Student Guides- http://campusvoteproject.org/studentguides/
- Myths- http://campusvoteproject.org/myths/
- Blog- http://campusvoteproject.org/blog/
Fair Elections Legal Network (FELN) http://fairelectionsnetwork.com
- State Specific Guides- http://fairelectionsnetwork.com/state-guides/
- Election Reform Resources- http://fairelectionsnetwork.com/resources/
- FELN News Center- http://fairelectionsnetwork.com/news-3/
Voting Information Project (VIP)- https://www.votinginfoproject.org
- Apps and Tools: https://www.votinginfoproject.org/projects/
- Online- https://votinginfoproject.org/projects/vip-voting-information-tool/
- Look up polling place by address, find out what is on your ballot, and check election dates.
- Embed the tool on your campuses website.
- Online- Get to the Polls- https://gttp.votinginfoproject.org
- Find your polling place location through address.
- SMS Tools- https://votinginfoproject.org/projects/sms-tool/
- Provides voters with election information via text message.