Fall is on the way 🍂 and election season is here. We're looking for dedicated volunteers that will help us inform voters, serve as nonpartisan election observers, organize candidate forums, boost our local guide to government, and inspire youth civic engagement. Pick the volunteer opportunity that suits your interests and strengths. We hope to hear from your soon!
Candidate Forum Organizing
Expected Time Commitment: A few hours over a few weeks leading up to the forum and/or a few hours the day of the forum.
Help your Local League organize a local candidate forum! While there are no state legislative races on the ballot this November, many larger towns and cities in Maine have city council, town council, or school board races. Candidate forums are an incredibly valuable opportunity for voters to learn about who is running for these local offices. Local Leagues could use volunteers to help with aspects of organizing these candidates forums, such as reaching out to candidates, finding a venue, collecting questions from the audience during the forum, etc.
Look up your Local League’s contact at lwvme.org/LocalLeagues or email Lane Sturtevant at lane@lwvme.org.
Guide to Local Government Project
Expected Time Commitment: The facilitator training is an hour-long training over zoom. The time commitment for facilitating a workshop varies, but includes the 90 minute workshop, plus travel and prep time.
Help LWVME educate and empower Mainers to get involved with local government! Learn how to facilitate our interactive, educational workshop on local government. We offer this workshop to community groups with the goal of inspiring more Mainers to take action in their community.
Local Government Workshops Facilitator Training
Thursday, September 7 at 5 PM: Register Here
After attending the training, you can sign up to facilitate workshop requests that fit your schedule or are in your area. Don’t worry – facilitators will have opportunities to shadow or co-facilitate with staff or other volunteers before facilitating workshops by themselves.
If you would like to help us create the guide to local government, email Lane Sturtevant at lane@lwvme.org.
Election Observation
Expected Time Commitment: 1 hour training, 3-5 hours on Election Day
The League’s Nonpartisan Election Observation program will return to observe polling places around the state for the November election. As a League election observer, you will have the opportunity to be trained on what to watch for, and then observe the election process first hand at a polling place in your region. Observers report out on our fair and free elections and help resolve any issues that arise.
If you would like to be an election observer, email Will Hayward at will@lwvme.org.
Register Young Voters
Expected Time Commitment: 2-3 of onboarding and learning about our resources, 2 hours per week to communicate with local schools and teachers
Help us register young voters and support your local high school's civic education by joining our volunteer team! We are looking for County High School Coordinators to work in their local communities.
Email allyson@lwvme.org for more information.
Ballot Question Voter Education
Expected Time Commitment: 1-2 hours a week (or more if you want)
This year’s statewide ballot will have 8 questions on it — 4 initiatives and 4 constitutional amendments. In a year like this, making sure that voters know what those questions are and what they mean is an important service. A lot of people worry that they won’t fully understand what their vote means. You can join the research team and help create detailed overviews of each question, or you can help organize local or online educational events about one or more of the questions. Let’s make sure every Maine voter knows what’s on this ballot and has the information they need to make up their mind.
If you'd like to be involved in that process, please email Evan at evan@lwvme.org.
Vote411 Local Election Researcher
Expected Time Commitment: 1-2 hours a week
Even though there are no candidates on the statewide ballot, some cities and towns have elections this November, and we’re going to cover them all at Vote411.org. You can join the research team, adopt a town, and make sure we get complete information for our online voter guide.
If you'd like to be involved in that process, please email Evan at evan@lwvme.org.
Neighbor to Neighbor Canvass Volunteer
Expected Time Commitment: 4 hours minimum
Our Neighbor to Neighbor volunteers visit people in low-income neighborhoods, especially in areas with a lot of new Americans, and connect with them at the door to talk about voting. We register new voters, help people request absentee ballots, hand out information in multiple languages, and answer any questions that people have about American democracy. This year we’re focused in Greater Portland and working in partnership with Avesta Housing and the Immigrant Welcome Center. You can sign up for one or multiple 4 hour shifts, or come out every weekend. We provide the training and support. These are some of the most fun and rewarding conversations about voting you’ll ever have!
If you'd like to be involved in that process, please email Evan at evan@lwvme.org.