Getting Out the Millennial Vote

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Did you know if millennials vote in the same proportion as baby boomers, they would decide every election?

 

Woodfords Corner resident Kari Suva believes the millennial cohort has the power to determine the future. She is working with the non-partisan League of Women Voters of Maine (LWVME) to increase voter turnout among millennials.

 

“After a conversation with a millennial friend who told me she didn’t know when and how to vote, I have decided to take action,” said Suva. “I believe it is both our right and duty to participate in our democracy to keep it strong.”

 

The LWVME developed a non-partisan guide to voting, the Easy to Read Voter Guide to the Maine 2018 General Election. You can pick it up along with a special Portland supplement guide at many local businesses in Woodfords Corner:

 

  • Little Woodfords

  • Portland Community Squash

  • Reve Cycling Studio

  • Juice’d Cafe

  • The Proper Cup

  • Big Sky Bakery

  • Bayou Kitchen

  • Tsunami Tattoo

  • The Local Press

  • Jazeera

  • Foodie Friends

  • Great Lost Bear

  • Rose Foods

 

You don’t need the guides to get involved. Suva suggests several ways to help increase the millennial vote.

Easy, takes an hour or so

Send a note to all the millennials you know with a few basic steps to registering and voting, and encouraging their friends. You can also post the information on Facebook and encourage your friends to reach out to their millennial contacts.


In your note, explain how to Register to Vote.  The two best options to register to vote are:


  1. Register in person by going to your town office or city hall anytime during business hours up to and including Election Day. Bring a valid state-issued photo ID card.  If that doesn’t have your current address, bring a bill showing your current address.


  1. Register on Election Day when you vote. To do this, you will be required to show a valid state-issued photo ID card and proof of your address.


Note that they can Vote by Absentee Ballot. Pick one up from your city hall or town clerk, or request an absentee ballot here as long as you do it by November 1.


Vote on Election Day, November 6. If you’re not sure where your polling place is, you can find it on the state’s Maine Voter Information Lookup Service.


If you or some of your friends are not voting in Maine, go to Rock the Vote for voter information for other states.

Easy, takes a little more time

Call the League of Women Voters of Maine (LWVME has now merged with Maine Citizens for Clean Elections) and volunteer to help them deliver the non-partisan Easy to Read Voter Guide to the Maine 2018 General Election, to local libraries and businesses. Contact Sarah Rawlings at 207-653-5157 or sarah@mainecleanelections.org.

More effort, but with potential for reaching more people!

Reach out to businesses you know and invite them to support efforts to get out the vote. Suva  has worked with LWVME to develop a simple package of material to give to businesses and organizations that agree to promote our civic duty and right to vote. The material includes a poster to display, messages to put on their Facebook page, and Voter Guides.


For more information or to help, contact Kari Suva at karisidessuva@gmail.com.


Eric Larsson