Why Iowa? A Primer on Primaries and Caucuses Teach-Out

Call to Action: Get engaged this election season and beyond

As a Teach-Out participant who made it to this Call to Action, you may already be civically engaged in your own way. We hope this experience will help you as you continue to build a strong foundation to engage with politics in your own context. If you’re eligible to vote in a primary or participate in a caucus in the U.S., consider the following ways to be engaged with this year’s primary. 

Vote and caucus, but don’t stop there!

If you are eligible to vote or caucus, prepare ahead of time.

Get organized: 

• Confirm you’re registered
• Find your polling place
• Plan your day --decide when you’re voting, how you’ll get there, and consider bringing a friend or neighbor with you.
• Mark your calendar with your plan
• Resources: Voter registration information, Information for your state or territory

Make your decision:

Choosing a candidate can be complicated. Many of us will stick to the political party we align with and are gathering whatever information we can. It can feel overwhelming, so we are encouraging you to identify some steps you’ll take to research candidates, reflect on what topics matter to you, and make an informed decision. Your path should fit you, but here are some ideas:

• Find a few news or information sources you trust, as well as a couple of new perspectives you may not be as familiar with. Visit several candidates’ websites and compare plans on issues you’re passionate about. As you heard in this Teach-Out, all media sources contribute to our political climate. 
• Seek out challenges to your preferred candidate. Hearing why others don’t support that candidate can help you reflect on your own perspectives and refine your stance, even if it doesn't change.
• Make a decision matrix. You may find some examples or templates on news outlets to help, but crafting your own means you trust the information you’re using. List out your values (or what matters most to you) down the first column on the left and give each candidate their own column for your research. For each value, consider marking a plus (+), minus (-) or question mark (?) for each candidate, based on how you feel the candidate aligns to the value for you. This artifact, even if you only spend a short amount of time on it, could help you solidify your perspective.

In addition to voting or caucusing in the primary, here are some ways you can continue to be engaged:

• Go further down the ballot: Your local election may include issues you care about. Find your sample ballot for the primary and if any other items are going to be up for votes in the fall. Then follow the rest of these steps to engage with those issues. 
• Find your cause: Trying to be involved in politics or activism in every-way can be exhausting and may not work for everyone. Beyond voting and staying generally informed, you might find that focusing on topics or issues that are important to you leads you to more meaningful engagement, and a bigger impact. Maybe it’s the environment, human rights, economic matters, or immigration. Start with what motivates you and aligns to your personal values.
• Contribute: There are endless ways to engage with an issue you care about, whether you are able to vote or not. A good first step might be finding a local or national organization that works on the issues you care about the most. They may have volunteer opportunities or accept donations, depending on the resources you can offer. Engaging with an organization may open up other pathways to donating your time and resources.
• Stay engaged beyond elections: Keep up with who has been elected and what is happening locally in your community. Find mobile applications you can use to track voting habits of officials, attend local meetings that are open to the public, or find a new source of information. It’s important to  find a pattern of engagement that is feasible for you to sustain. As several of our guest experts said, civic engagement or political participation comes in many different forms, so we encourage you to find what fits your needs.