Civic Engagement
Advocacy is an important part of child and adolescent psychiatry and AACAP and Vot-ER are excited to encourage AACAP members to work to boost civic engagement in your health community. Vot-ER is a nonpartisan nonprofit physician-led organization created to bolster civic engagement, improve voter preparedness and election turnout in the health community.
Vot-ER has partnered with over 700 national and state medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, along with children’s hospitals, health clinics, and other organizations to help prepare Americans to vote.
Vot-ER provides health professionals with free badges printed with a QR code that easily directs users to a nonpartisan voter registration platform where users can register, request a mail-in ballot, or learn more about voting. Each badge is designed to wear with your existing ID and has a unique QR code to help you track your impact. Ensure you request a badge before your state’s voter registration deadline and allow about two weeks for your order to process. Anyone who requested a badge more than two years ago is encouraged to request a new, updated badge.
Order a free badge today!
Resource Toolkit
These free resources are available for you to use in any setting. Print out flyers to incorporate with intake paperwork or the after-visit summary, put up posters in high traffic areas, and place either digital signage or handouts in waiting areas.
Find when elections are happening in your state at voteearlyday.org.
Learn which states vote by mail, and how to request an absentee ballot, which can be helpful for busy physicians at usa.gov.
Find your polling place at Vote.org.
Read Vot-ER’s conversation starters that are appropriate in most clinical settings to have critical conversation with families about the importance of voting and link them with the necessary information.
501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations can engage in get-out-the-vote efforts under the federal tax code. Find this and other answers to related legal questions from Vot-ER and download their one-page compliance document.
View Vot-ER’s July 2024 Presentation to AACAP’s Advocacy Liaison Network.
Learn about existing state ballot ID and other ballot access laws, answer questions about possibly using student ID cards in states where IDs are required, and more at VoteRiders.org.
AACAP is a proud partner of NAMI’s 2024 #Vote4MentalHealth campaign. Take the pledge to #Vote4MentalHealth at vote4mentalhealth.org. Learn about issues on the ballot relevant to mental health, share why you #Vote4MentalHealth, register to vote, update your registration, request an absentee ballot, find your polling place, and more. Learn how to get involved and make a plan to vote.