A significant amount of advocacy for various social and political causes is being done by students. Inspire U.S. is a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that works with high school students to encourage them to vote and take political action. If you are passionate about encouraging youth civic engagement, you could work with Inspire U.S. to start a program in your old high school.
There are many other student-led initiatives focusing on a variety of social and political causes. Here is a list of organizations on campus for you to engage and connect back to voting.
Advocate For A Cause
Regardless of whether you’re interested in joining an organization or movement, there are many ways to advocate for a cause. Educating yourself, joining an organization that is working on a cause you care about, and informing those around you of the issue are all important steps in raising awareness.
Writing a letter to the editor is a way to present your thoughts to a large audience and possibly attract attention from your representatives.
Another option is to write to your representatives directly. This list of tips on how to write your letter will help make sure it is as effective as possible in informing your representative of your stance on an issue. You can also submit your opinions about specific bills to your representatives electronically through IssueVoter.
Get Involved in the Political Process
Apart from contacting your representatives there are several ways of getting involved with the political process. One is to volunteer with a political campaign. On our Who Are My Reps? page, you can find links to the campaigns of Connecticut politicians. If you want to work with a campaign in your home state, you can contact your representatives and see how you can contribute.
Another option is to submit testimony for bills you care about. By submitting oral or written testimony, you are giving legislators and committee members more personal and effective evidence of the impact of their proposed legislation. To submit testimony, first identify bills you care about. Go to legiscan.com, select your state, and hit search to find a list of bills from this legislative season. You can also search for a specific bill or keyword.
Once you have found a bill that you are passionate about, you need to know the protocols for submitting testimony in your state. You can find your state legislature website and search for how to testify, but some of these websites can be tricky to navigate. Another method is to simply search “submit testimony [your state] legislature” in your preferred search engine. Most states should offer the opportunity to comment in person at a public hearing or to submit written testimony.
Once you know what you want to say and how to communicate that to your state legislature, read these guidelines for preparing, writing, and giving testimony and go for it!
If you would like to really be part of the decision-making process for policy, you can apply to sit on a local board or committee. Being on a local committee is a great opportunity to participate in public policy making for your town. This is not an opportunity exclusive during your time at Trinity. At any point, you can contact your town hall or search your town’s website to see if there are any vacancies on committees or boards you are interested in.
The TrinVotes! and ConnPIRG are planning registration virtual events throughout the fall. We’ve organized all the information and materials, but your help to spread the word!
Registration volunteers help students 1) decide where to vote, 2) get registered, 3) request an absentee ballot if needed, 4) learn about what’s on their ballot, and 5) turn out on election day. Volunteers walk students through the process, but are NOT expected to know all the answers. Instead they are a resource. To begin tabling, simply contact us and we will schedule a table for you, then watch the how-to video so you will know how to get things done.
We could also use help with social media outreach and events. Follow TrinVotes! on Instagram @trinvotes or Twitter on #trinvotes
Election Day
We will need volunteers throughout the day on Tuesday 11/8 (7am-8pm – 4 shifts) to encourage and inform students at Mather dining hall, as well as organizing groups of students to walk groups of students down to the polling location at HMTCA. Sign up to help on election day!
