Voters & Candidates & Elections- OH MY!
In celebration of National Voter Registration Day, Arts NC wants to encourage the entire statewide creative community to take an active role in our democracy by:
- creating a community full of registered voters,
- engaging candidates on arts related issues, and;
- ensuring people cast a ballot to have their voice heard.
Arts NC has a wide range of election resources to help you and your organization to make a real difference in the municipal elections this fall, the primary elections in the March, or the general election in November 2022.
VOTERS:
The first voter you need to engage is yourself! The We Vote Arts Election Portalwill help you to make sure you are registered to vote in the correct district and that your information is updated. There are many ways to have your vote counted on election as well as by mail or early voting, depending on the county and which election it is. Vote411 and Ballot Ready are great resources in addition to your local board of elections.
Next you need to create the vote by engaging in the voter registration process. Arts performances and events are perfect places to have voter registration presence. You can host your own voter registration drive or partner with nonprofits that do this work such as You Can Vote or League of Women Voters of North Carolina. The National Voter Registration Day website has resources including a Guide for Conducting Voter Registration Drives in NC.
CANDIDATES:
This summer Arts NC issued the Arts Candidate Event Challenge 2022, asking the states many creative communities to hold at least 22 events for local candidates before the November 2022 election. We are pleased to announce that Arts Council of Wilmington and New Hanover County, led by Rhonda Bellamy, will be hosting the first candidate event to rise that challenge on October 12th, a Candidates’ Forum on the Arts for Wilmington Mayor and City Council.
Arts North Carolina has researched best practices and learned from success stories here in NC to create an easy-to-use step-by-step Arts Candidate Forum/Event Toolkit that will walk you through the process of hosting an arts-focused event with candidates for local office. This is a fantastic way to elevate the arts as an issue in your community and build relationships with elected (or about to be elected) officials.
These events can be as simple as hosting a meet and greet for arts patrons and candidates for local office that includes a short presentation about the arts in your community and each candidate introducing themselves to the attendees. You can also host a forum with Q&A either online or in-person. Email Arts NC Executive Director Nate McGaha for details.
ELECTIONS:
However, no matter how many voters are registered and candidates are engaged, the most important thing is that an informed electorate actually cast ballots on election day, through early voting, or by mail. As an individual, you can help to make this happen by becoming an election worker. Election workers are often older citizens, many of whom no longer feel comfortable engaging with the public due to the pandemic. Find out how you can step up and help make democracy happen as an election worker.
Voters who are engaged by nonprofits are more likely to cast a ballot, especially among demographic groups that have been historically under-represented at the polls. In addition to voter registration, nonprofits can engage in nonpartisan get-out-the-vote efforts in a wide variety of ways. Nonprofit VOTE is a national organization committed to helping nonprofits engage effectively and appropriately with voters, candidates, and elections.