2024 Healthy Democracy Campaign
Vot-ER and the BUSSW Votes team invite all members of our extended BUSSW community to join us in participating in the 2024 Healthy Democracy Campaign!
This fall, our students once again lead BUSSW’s efforts to improve the health of their clients and communities through a powerful intervention – voter registration – ahead of the upcoming national election.
The Healthy Democracy Campaign is taking place from September 1st to November 5th (Election Day). Join us to make sure everyone has a voice in this election!
Email BUSSW Votes Coordinator Diane Crowley and HDC Team Captain Zoe Richman to get involved:
BUSSW Votes!
As part of BUSSW’s work on anti-racist activism, we are working to facilitate voter registration, voting rights efforts, and safe voting for our School community. We’ve partnered with voting groups to launch the Creating a Healthy Democracy Campaign. Collaborating with BU Votes, Civic Health Month, Vot-ER, and Voting is Social Work, BUSSW is committed to:
- ENGAGE students, faculty, staff and partner agencies by raising awareness about the importance of voting and its connection to social work practice
- EDUCATE students and partner agencies on voter engagement and voting rights activities
- REGISTER students, faculty, staff, partner agency colleagues, clients, and communities
- ENSURE that all people served by social workers are able to VOTE
We are currently looking for new members to join BUSSW Votes. To learn more and get involved, email Diane Crowley at crowleyd@bu.edu.
Resources
Four ways you can get involved now to make sure you and those around you can vote safely this year:
- Make a plan for Healthy Voting
- Order a free Healthy Democracy Kit to join other social workers and healthcare providers in registering patients/clients, staff, friends and family to vote before Election Day
- Add the safe voting email signature to your emails
- Follow Civic Health Month, Vot-ER and Voting is Social Work to stay up to date with the latest information and updates.
Voting by mail & absentee voting:
- USA.gov Mail-In Absentee Ballot Overview – Includes information about how some states are changing their processes due to coronavirus and allowing mail-in or absentee ballots
- Vote.org Absentee Ballot Deadlines – State-by-state deadlines to apply for an absentee ballot
- “Acceptable Excuses” for Absentee Voting – Some states have “no-excuse absentee” voting, which means any voter can request a mail ballot without providing an excuse; others only permit certain voters to request an absentee ballot by mail, based on an “excuse” of why that voter can’t make it to the polls on Election Day. This webpage summarizes acceptable excuses. (Note: The table has not been updated since April 2020; please refer to each state’s website for updates.)
Additional resources:
- Rock The Vote: How To Vote – Register to vote, check your registration, find important deadlines, and more
- Rock The Vote: Voting Information – State-by-state information
- Voter Information from the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts – Government website (sec.state.ma.us)
- League of Women Voters of Massachusetts
- ACLU: Voting Rights – Information about voter suppression by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
- Fair Fight – Organization led by Stacey Abrams promoting fair elections
- Voting Is Social Work
- NCSL Early Voting Information – State-by-state early voting policies
- Civic Health Month: An Expert’s Advocacy Guide