How to Encourage Your Employees to Be Informed Voters

In our last article in this series, we highlighted the voting process and how to engage your workforce and encourage them to vote this Election Day, Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Now we’re exploring more ways your organization can support and empower employees to become informed voters this election season by providing opportunities for listening and learning.

The democratic process doesn’t begin when voters show up to the polls on Election Day, but rather in the weeks, months and years that precede them casting their vote. Listening and learning is vital to ensuring that a nation’s voters are informed and, hopefully, use their knowledge to vote consciously.

Employers and, more specifically, CEOs now play a crucial role in overcoming the spread of misinformation. It’s also up to leadership to help educate employees on local, state and national issues, along with the public servants elected to help mitigate or solve those issues. 

Here’s how to provide educational resources to your workforce, minimizing misinformation and supporting your employees to vote responsibly through listening and learning about the issues and candidates. 

Find and share nonpartisan resources on candidates, policies and issues.

Create resources, such as a website or page on your company’s intranet, to help educate employees and brand loyalists about issues and officials who might impact them on both business and personal fronts. If creating a website isn’t feasible, then point employees to publicly available information on candidates, local or national issues, or ways to register to vote. Showcase important election-related dates at the national and local level.

Hosting registration drives, providing time off to vote and offering nonpartisan ways to educate employees about candidates and ballot initiatives allow companies to strengthen communities through the democratic process.

–  Katy Elder, vice president, Business Innovation, Points of Light

Emphasize local elections in your communications.

Weave the importance of participating in local elections into your internal and external communications strategy. While the spotlight is usually shone on national elections, local and state elections can actually be more relevant and impactful. They may dictate more directly where and how tax dollars are allocated and which community resources are readily available at a local level.

Provide platforms for listening and learning. 

Host candidate forums, develop Voting 101 workshops or create opt-in learning modules about barriers to civic participation faced by historically excluded communities. Allow employees to share their lived experiences and engage in meaningful discussions around the issues you’re educating them about. 

If you haven’t yet seen our Civic Life Today issue on Listen and Learn, we urge you to give it a read. It includes helpful information about what listening and learning really entails, tips and educational resources, and interviews with activists and advocates. 

Our next article in this four-part series will cover how you can encourage employees to use their voice this election season, mindful of navigating the workplace, a typically nonpartisan environment. And don’t miss the first installment that covers 3 Ways Companies Can Encourage Employees To Vote.