Asheville nonprofits innovate to get out the vote
ASHEVILLE – With so much at stake in this year's election, area nonprofits are stepping up their efforts to get out the vote in innovative ways.
Children First / Communities In Schools printed 40,000 copies of its 2014 Buncombe County Voter Guide, the most it has printed to date.
"Five or six years ago, we were just printing them off the printer in our office," said Allison Jordan, executive director of the nonprofit which focuses on empowering children and their families.
This year's guide went out via targeted mailing lists. Eighteen partner organizations, including the Mountain Xpress, also distributed the booklet.
"We want people to vote," said Jordan. "We want them to take part in the democratic process and also be educated about who they are voting for."
The guide covers candidates' views on child poverty, education, health, social services to low-income families, affordable housing and living wage requirements.
"It's really issue-focused around children and families," she said.
To reach a more diverse audience, Children First / Communities In Schools has been distributing the guide with the food assistance boxes it gives to families in need at its Family Resource Center at Emma.
Like other nonpartisan nonprofits, Children First / Communities In Schools said its roots as an advocacy organization mean it has a strong interest in engaging the people it serves in voter education.
The YWCA of Asheville has been working on voter registration with Democracy North Carolina and the American Association of University Women since March, said Beth Maczka, chief executive officer of the organization which works to eliminate racism and empower women.
"We want people to understand that these policies affect them, and that elected officials impact their wallets every day," Maczka said.
In addition to hosting its first voter registration training, attended by 80 people, the YWCA has also been talking with potential voters outside of its child care pick-up centers asking clients to register and pledge to vote.
New laws have changed the way low-income families receive assistance for childcare, Maczka said. People are no longer offered a part-time option; everyone is required to pay the full-time rate regardless of how many hours their children are receiving the service.
At least half of the families of the 200-some children the YWCA serves with its childcare services have had their fees doubled, Maczka said.
The state has also lowered the income eligibility for families, she added. Before a family could make $47,700 and receive state benefits, now they need to make $31,716 or less.
"Not only are these fees being doubled, but once these families start to renew their services, many of them might lose their eligibility," said Maczka. "The parents are saying, 'I have to decide: Is it worth it to keep my job, or do I stay home?'"
The United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County is ramping up its voter education programs for the first time, said Elisabeth Bocklet, director of marketing and communications for the umbrella agency.
In addition to sending out memos to its partner organizations encouraging involvement in voter education, this year it created a voter's page on its website, and rolled out an online pledge program.
Research from the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits and the Nonprofit VOTE found that 81 percent of North Carolinians who were contacted by nonprofits encouraging them to register and vote participated in the 2012 election, Bocklet cited.
There are a number of groups that have been more interested in promoting voter turnout this time than in other midterm elections, both because of confusion over the new voter identification laws and because of the partisan nature of this year's races, said Sarah Zambon, a government lawyer, who also serves on the board of directors for the League of Women Voters Asheville - Buncombe County.
Especially for nonprofits, so many of the issues that the legislature touched on last session directly impact their ability to serve their communities, Zambon said, discussing North Carolina's potential to be a swing state in the U.S. Senate and term limits for members of the state legislature.
"You can drastically change the state of North Carolina every two years," she added. "Whether you agree or disagree, there is a lot of attention being paid to the legislative races."
GUIDE INFO
•The 2014 Buncombe County Voter Guide is available online at http://votebuncombe.org/
•A Voting Rights in North Carolina pamphlet prepared by the League of Women Voters Asheville - Buncombe is also available, http://www.ablwv.org/files/ablwv_pamphletfeb2014.pdf
•The United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County's voter education webpage can be found at http://www.unitedwayabc.org/vote. The organization's 211 non emergency line is also connecting people to organizations who can help with transportation to the polls.