Dear Candidates and Local Elected Officials,
Thank you for your service to our community, either as a current elected official or candidate for local office.
I am writing to you today on behalf of the Topeka Voter Collaborative (TVC), a nonpartisan collective of individuals and organizations dedicated to empowering Shawnee County current and future voters by encouraging informed civic engagement and active participation in local elections.
You may have heard that we recently launched the TopCity25 voter initiative- a community-wide initiative aimed at raising voter turnout in this fall's Mayoral election to 25%. This would mark a 5% increase in turnout from the last Mayoral election.
We have every reason to believe we can hit this goal. In fact, turnout in the last three Mayoral elections has steadily increased! With the number of important issues facing our community, it is more important than ever that our citizens make their voice heard.
Whether you are on the ballot or not this fall, here are some ways you can support this important goal:
· Utilize our toolkit available online at https://bit.ly/topcity25. The toolkit contains sample graphics, emails, and messaging you can use to promote the initiative. Graphics are even customized for each City Council District.
· Mark yourself as "Going" on our Facebook event for Election Day, and invite others here: https://www.facebook.com/events/4275432516009707
· Attend and promote the Candidate Meet-and-Greet on Monday, September 29 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm at the Topeka Library. This will be one of the largest opportunities this fall for citizens to meet their candidates for local office.
· Respond to candidate questionnaires- these are important tools for voters to be able to make an educated decision on Election Day. This includes the questionnaire from the League of Women Voters, which powers the Vote411.org election tool, which serves as a centralized location for nonpartisan voter information.
· For candidates- actively campaign for office! When voters see you at events, notice your signs, or see your social media presence, it increases awareness of upcoming elections. Increased campaign activity from candidates has no doubt been a big driver of increased turnout in past local elections.
Thank you again for your public service. We can't wait to celebrate achieving this goal and more importantly, celebrate what's possible when our community comes together.
Sincerely,
Angel Romero
TVC Coordinator