The Voter Advocacy Team seeks to support New Haven’s voter engagement efforts, promote partisan voter engagement on Yale’s campus, and collaborate with outside organizations that spread civic education and fight for voting rights across the nation.

Over the course of the semester, Voter Advocacy Fellows work on either an on-campus or off-campus project that keeps them engaged in voter advocacy and engagement work. Those who partner with external organizations get direct training to help fight for voting rights, engage in direct action with voters, and participate in civic education and engagement nationally. On campus, Fellows encourage and assist Yalies to vote for Democratic candidates.

During Tuesday meetings, we listen to Voter Advocacy Fellows present on their projects, learn updates about the state of voting and the current elections, and engage in projects such as text-banking and writing postcards to propel the Democratic Get Out The Vote effort.

If you have any questions about our Voter Advocacy program or are interested in getting involved, please contact our Voter Advocacy Coordinator, Roy Kohavi, at roy.kohavi@yale.edu.

Spring 2024 Projects

DEMOCRATS ABROAD

Fellows will help the over 9 million Americans abroad fulfill their right to vote. They will particularly assist Democrats with the voting process and provide answers to any questions to facilitate the complexities of voting abroad. They will also help with content management, creating blog posts, graphics, videos, and memes to help with messaging.

BLUE HAVEN INITIATIVE and FAIR FIGHT ACTION

Fellows work with these organizations to promote better policy and strengthen our democracy. In the latter, they will fight for voting rights in Georgia and will assist the nonprofit through phonebanking, public testimonies, data sorting, etc.

ON-CAMPUS PARTISAN MESSAGING

Fellows will create infographics, posters, and even social media graphics geared toward Yalies, focusing messaging on progressive policies, why they matter, and the need to vote for Democrats. They will focus on various issues and engage in tabling, flier distribution, and collaborations with other student organizations. They will also do Bulldog Days Democratic messaging in the Spring and do a first-year voter education campaign in the fall.

ON-CAMPUS VOTER EDUCATION/CAMPAIGNING

Fellows will focus GOTV efforts on registered Democrats, particularly working to turn out upperclassmen who vote less. Fellows will become state experts in battleground states and help with deadlines and access to state information. Fellows will hold tabling events and encourage voters to request their ballots early. They will hold student Democratic voter registration drives and extend the outreach to New Haven residents as well.