Lead the Vote Coalition talks Voter Engagement!
This article was published in the Mankato Free Press on August 21st and is written by Brian Arola
MANKATO — A coalition of women leaders at Mankato-area nonprofits is focusing on nonpartisan voter engagement leading into Election Day.
Lead the Vote started in 2022 and features representatives from the YWCA, Life-Work Planning Center, the St. Peter League of Women Voters, Minnesota State University’s Women’s Center and Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging.
They aim to promote the importance of nonprofits to legislators, help nonprofits advocate around issues of importance to them, and provide information about voting to the people they serve, said Margo Druschel of the League of Women Voters.
“Our goal is to help each nonprofit focus in on what is currently the biggest political issue for you, your agency and the people that you serve, and then encourage advocacy,” she said.
A 501©(3) organization, commonly called a charitable organization, is restricted from endorsing or opposing political candidates. This limitation, however, doesn’t mean they have to sit silent on the sidelines during election season.
Helping people find the resources they need to vote, as an example, isn’t partisan. A Lead the Vote workshop Wednesday went into how nonprofits can and should participate in these and other nonpartisan conversations about voting.
Nonprofits can encourage voting generally and advocate on issues impacting them, Druschel said, as long as they steer clear of endorsements or offering incentives for voting.
The approach is a recognition of the barriers to voting faced by people who seek services from nonprofits. Nonprofits may have an established relationship with them and be seen as a trusted source of information.
At the same time, nonprofits are greatly impacted by funding decisions at the local, state and federal levels. Decisions made by lawmakers have a downstream influence on nonprofits’ ability to do their work.
One example, affordable housing, is a highly relevant issue tying into nonprofits doing workforce development, homelessness response, food insecurity and more work. Nonprofits should feel comfortable pointing people toward candidate stances on issues like that, Druschel said.
She used the League of Women Voters’ Vote 411 page as a recommended resource where people can find stances from candidates in their own words.
Most nonprofits don’t do voter engagement, either because they don’t have the resources or don’t see how it ties into what they do, said Jean Keenan, executive director at Life-Work. But the work can make a big difference.
“I would argue it’s connected to everyone’s mission because the people you’re serving care about the cause and the service you provide,” she said.
Following up on the workshop, Lead the Vote next has a community conversation event planned at the Blue Earth County Library on Sept. 17. This event will be for legislators, political candidates and the general public to listen to and engage in dialogue with nonprofit representatives.
