AAUW - Voter Guides for the 2008 November Elections

AAUW voter guides provide nonpartisan information about candidate positions on AAUW priority issues. Because issues important to women and families are at stake in elections, it is vital that women go to the polls knowing where the candidates stand on issues such as education, retirement security, a fair and balanced judiciary, and pay equity. That’s where AAUW voter guides come in.

Here you’ll find voter guides for the presidential race and select Senate races. Additional guides for select House and gubernatorial races will be added soon. If your AAUW branch has done a voter guide for a House, Senate, or gubernatorial race, e-mail it to the Public Policy and Government Relations department at VoterEd@aauw.org and we will add it to this page.

Candidates’ positions on the issues were determined using candidates’ voting records, public statements, campaign position papers, and information posted on the Internet from trusted sources. This guide is provided as a public service and is not intended to be an endorsement of any candidate or political party.

How to Use the AAUW Voter Guides

The power of AAUW’s voter guides lies in their ability to reach women who otherwise would not have access to the information, which will help educate them about the positions candidates are taking on issues important to women and girls. As such, distribution of the voter guides is key to their effectiveness. While coalition partner organizations should be central vehicles for distribution, all involved must understand the importance of reaching beyond the collective membership.

There are many ways to distribute voter guides to women in your community:

Mail voter guides to the drop-off women voters on your target list.
Distribute voter guides at child care centers, low-income neighborhoods, women’s shelters, workplaces, transit stations, hair salons, community centers, family planning clinics, libraries, churches, other associations, and college campuses. Be sure to go to places that are frequented by women who would otherwise not have access to this information.
Plan a high-visibility literature drop. Distribution of voter guides in busy areas like campuses, plant gates, transit stops, busy intersections during rush hour, office building plazas during lunch hour, and shopping centers increases campaign exposure and heightens voter awareness of the upcoming election. Begin literature drops the week before the election.
Hold an open house. Invite women in your community to join branch members for refreshments and a discussion of the issues. Hand out the voter guide. Don’t forget to have a sign in sheet at your event to identify prospective new members.
Post the voter guide on your state or branch website. Putting your voter guide on the web is an effective, inexpensive way to reach large numbers of women. If you do post the guide on your site, be sure to advertise it with messages on your state e-mail list and postings in public places in your community.
Have your own speaker’s bureau. Organize teams or individuals to spend time speaking to other women and offering voter guides in places such as: community centers, community college or university government and women’s studies classes, child care centers, grocery stores, or hair salons.
Hold a press conference to brief members of the media about your Voter Education Campaign and let them know that you will be distributing voter guides in the community.
Call a coalition meeting with your allies and include a few new organizations, such as community, neighborhood, student, or youth organizations, or individuals who are willing to volunteer.
Once you have established that each of the organizations has a stake in more women voting, ask the organizations to pledge to reach a specific community of women beyond their members. Working in coalition with a wide range of diverse organizations on activities such as voter education efforts, candidate and issue forums, and disseminating voter guides allows you to take on larger projects, reach more members of your community, increase AAUW membership, and gain visibility.

Producing Voter Guides

Producing voter guides for races in your state or community is a valuable branch activity in this critical election year. Follow the steps below, from the Woman-to-Woman Voter Turnout manual, to get your branch involved.

Build a Team
Find other AAUW members in your area who might be interested in helping with the voter guide project. Delegating work and establishing a network of members will make your voter guide project easier and more effective. Read newspapers and track other sources for information on likely candidates and their positions on AAUW priority issues. For details on AAUW priority issues, visit www.aauw.org/issue_advocacy/principles_priorities.cfm.

Conduct Research
In coordination with other members and appropriate coalition partners, have researchers document the positions of the candidates on the issues to be listed in the voter guide. Begin your research on candidate positions on AAUW priority issues as soon as candidates declare their candidacy.

According to the Federal Election Commission, voter guides must use sources of information that are in the public domain:

Candidate advertisements
Candidate speeches made at public events
Candidate positions stated during public candidate forums
Print or broadcast news media stories that quote the candidates or their spokespersons
Campaign position papers
Candidates’ letters, leaflets, brochures, or newsletters
Candidates’ votes on national, state, or local legislation
Information posted on the Internet from trusted sources

Examples of nonpublic domain sources that may not be used to document a candidate position for AAUW voter guides include the following:

Comments made by a candidate in a private setting (e.g., at a private party or fundraising event not open to the public)
privately to you or another individual in a private or public setting
Information obtained through direct and private contact with candidates or their staff, regardless of who initiates the contact
Positions from candidate questionnaires by other organizations unless the questionnaire is in the public domain Thus, if the responses to a questionnaire conducted by another organization are published in the newspaper or on the Internet, they are considered public and may be used in voter guides.

You do not need to include the source of each position in the guide. You should keep a record of the documentation for each position, however, so that you can provide sources and answer questions.

Fill in the Blanks
Once you have established the positions for the candidates, add "supports," "opposes," or "mixed" where appropriate on the voter guide. If you were unable to locate a position for a candidate, list the candidate's position as "unknown."

The Company You Keep
The only organizations that can legally participate in voter guide activities are 501(c)(4) organizations that do not coordinate with candidates or political parties. A 501(c)(3) charitable organization cannot participate in this part of the campaign.

For more information on how your branch can produce and distribute a voter guide for a local or state election, download a copy of the Woman-to-Woman Voter Turnout manual.