Below are some of the dates and deadlines to look out for:

• National Voter Registration Day — Celebrated every September, National Voter Registration Day is an opportunity to check in on your voter registration, and encourage others to do the same. This includes registering to vote if you haven’t already done so, reviewing and updating your registration information and requesting an absentee/mail-in ballot for an upcoming election.
• Deadline to request an absentee ballot — State election laws vary; in Rhode Island, mail-in ballot requests must be received 21 days before the election. Encourage others to learn the deadline in their state and submit their requests in a timely manner.
• Early voting begins — For students and staff registered to vote in RI, voting early in-person can help to reduce lines and wait times on election day. Find your polling location here.
• Deadline to mail absentee ballots — Most states require that ballots be received by election day. Make sure you know your state deadlines. (Remember: Free stamps and envelopes are available at Mail Services and the Swearer Center.)
• Election Day — Faunce/ Stephen Roberts Campus Center (75 Waterman Street) serves as a polling location for students registered in Rhode Island during presidential elections. Polling locations for primaries and other elections may vary; check the Secretary of State website for the latest updates: vote.sos.ri.gov. 

Below is a sample announcement, but you can adjust the language to fit your message and priorities. Current dates and deadlines can be found on the brownvotes.brown.edu website.

Announcement Sample 1

At [campus office, department or center] we encourage all members of our community to register to vote, check their voter registration, research elections and make a plan to vote, whether by mail, early or in person on election day. If you are not eligible to vote in U.S. elections, there are many ways you can engage in the process. Find voter information and resources at brownvotes.brown.edu.

Announcement Sample 2

The [campus office, department or center] reminds community members of these important upcoming election dates in Rhode Island:

• xx/xx | Deadline to register to vote and request your ballot
• xx/xx | Submit your mail-in/absentee ballot
• xx/xx | Election Day

Visit brownvotes.brown.edu for information about voting in other states.

As a student, staff or faculty leader on campus you can encourage democratic participation by connecting public policy and elections to the concerns of your area of study or particular affinity groups. Particularly for communities that have historically faced barriers to voting or lower voter turnout, you can make an immense difference by facilitating dialogue on this topic.

Faculty members, particularly in fields that may seem distant from democratic engagement or have traditionally low student voter turnout, can make an immense difference by facilitating dialogue on this topic. For instance, professors in STEM fields can focus on the public challenges of climate change or engage in hack-a-thons around specific community problems. 

Here are some ideas for incorporating information about the importance of voting into the curriculum of various subjects or programming for your department.

• Life Sciences: Hold a facilitated discussion on climate and energy. Educate students on how to communicate their research findings with elected officials.
• Engineering: Discuss how local, state or federal legislation affects research and development projects, funding and subsidies for different kinds of technology. 
• Social Sciences: Design an ethnography of nonvoters.
• Computer Science: Design solutions to increase the usability of mail-in voting systems.
• Statistics: Assign a problem set that analyzes voting power across different municipalities or states.
• Health: Hypothesize the future of a specific health care issue, based on voting behavior.
• Design: Redesign the voting booth or the voter registration form.
• History and Law: Discuss voting enfranchisement over time.

Signal your commitment to voting in all your communications. Sample messages are included below:

• Are you ready for xx/xx? Register to vote.
• 20xx is an election year. Every election matters. Sign up for Brown’s TurboVote. TurboVote helps you register, request an absentee ballot if needed and send timely reminders about election deadlines.  
• Are you registered to vote? Do you need an absentee ballot? Use brown.turbovote.org.
• Be a voter. For more information on how you can engage, visit brownvotes.brown.edu.
• Register for TurboVote and never miss an election.
• It’s an election year! Find key voting dates and information at brownvotes.brown.edu.
• I vote because: ___________.  I use TurboVote so I can keep up with all the deadlines.
• Register. Engage. Vote
• Don’t just talk about change. Vote.
• Today is Election Day! When and where are you voting? Find your RI polling location.

• Invite local elected officials to speak about your academic subjects’ relationship to public leadership.
• Collaborate with Brown Votes to host a registration event or integrate a voter engagement table into an existing gathering. 

Be a poll worker. Working at the polls is a great way to be involved in the democratic process and workers are desperately needed. Anyone registered in Rhode Island can work as a poll worker. Brown University gives faculty, staff and students federal election days off. Working the polls is an excellent way to serve our community and help others vote. Learn more about becoming a poll worker in Rhode Island at elections.ri.gov/pollworkers, or working the polls elsewhere in the country at eac.gov/help-america-vote.