Due to COVID-19, the 2020 General Election will be like no other.

In typical years, many NGOs make sure their audiences are motivated to vote, are registered to vote, and know their options on when and where to cast their ballot. Now, with COVID-19, there is a new, crucial role NGOs can play – make sure your audiences know how to safely and securely Vote Absentee and In-Person.

Details on how to vote safely and securely absentee and in-person are typically hyper-local: Where can I drop off my absentee ballot if I don’t want to send it by mail? What are the deadlines to request an absentee ballot and turn it in or mail it back? What are the deadlines to register to vote? What are the dates and locations for early voting where I live? Where is my polling place on election day?

Many water organizations also work at hyper-local scales and are perfectly poised to get critical, local voting information to their supporters and followers – along with reminders on local deadlines.

Here are a few examples we’ve seen where members of the network are helping Get Out the Vote:

• Alabama Rivers Alliance hosted a “Make Your Voice Count!” Zoom talk with Alabama Arise, League of Women Voters of Greater Birmingham, and Conservation Alabama.
• West Virginia Rivers Coalition sent an email to their supporters urging them to “Make a Plan and Vote” and shared information on important voting-related dates and links for West Virginia residents.
• North Carolina Conservation Network is regularly emailing voting-related information to their members and recruiting volunteers to help get voting information to North Carolina voters.
• Chattahoochee Riverkeeper emailed their members with information on voting options for 2020 and a link to register to vote, along with information on why voting is important for clean water this year.
• The Choose Clean Water Coalition and Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed River Watershed developed a Civic Engagement Toolkit with sample social media posts, email messages, images, and other valuable information and resources for their members, including information specific to each Basin state.

To support members of the network in taking similar actions to get critical, local voting information to their supporters, River Network has developed a number of resources to help:

• We curated a list of voting-related information you can help get to your supporters (along with links to help you easily find local voting information) including information on registration deadlines, absentee voting and deadlines, early voting dates and locations, and election day voting.
• We recorded a presentation on the dos and don’ts for 501c3s and election-related activities.
• The same video also includes ideas on voting information that is helpful to share out to your audiences.

On October 14 at 2p ET we are hosting a Roundtable Discussion for members of the Network on “Get Out the Vote – What Your Organization Can Do!” Learn more and register to participate TODAY.

Finally, here is where you can find our GOTV and Elections & 501(c)(3) Resources, all in one place.

If you have questions or need additional support, don’t hesitate to reach out to me – and also let us know how you help Get Out the Vote in 2020.