VotER Messaging Guidance for Pediatricians

This fall, candidates and ballot initiatives across the country will shape policies impacting child health for years to come. That’s why it’s more important than ever to make sure the patients and families you care for are registered to vote. 

Let’s Talk About Getting Out the Vote! 

The American Academy of Pediatrics has partnered with Vot-ER to share some conversation starters to promote voter registration and participation in a nonpartisan way. 

Here are some messages you can use to talk to anyone about voting: 

• Before I leave, I’d like to check if you are eligible to vote and registered to vote at your current address.  
• Your vote is a powerful tool to address and improve issues you care about, like your health.
• Local elections are often decided by a small number of voters, and the impact on your community is immediate. 
• Through your vote, you have a say on issues like prices of medication and the cost of health insurance that affect your friends and family. 

Here are some messages that may resonate with young voters: 

• As a young person, you have more power than you might think.
• In 2020, young voters like you made history and set voting records! 
• Your vote allows you to create the changes you want to see in your community.
• Your generation’s upbringing has been impacted by so much – the COVID-19 pandemic, gun violence, climate change – you deserve to have a say in the leaders who represent you when tackling these big issues.
• Local elections, which impact so much of our day-to-day lives, often come down to just a handful of votes. Don’t sit out the chance to make a change for your community. 

Remember, young voters are often issue-motivated rather than candidate-motivated. Polling frequently shows cost of living, firearm violence, climate change, and reproductive rights to be motivating issues for young voters of all ideologies, even if they do not approve of their choice for candidates. Making clear the stakes on these issues can help inspire them to vote. 

Here are some conversation starters for discussing voting with parents: 

• Your vote is a powerful tool to address and improve issues you care about, like paid time off to welcome a newborn and investing in local parks.
• Local elections are decided by hundreds of votes, and immediately impact issues like local community centers and social supports.
• Through your vote, you have a say on issues that affect your family like parental leave, the impact of social media on your child’s mental health, access to affordable, high-quality healthcare and many other issues. 

State Voter Registration Ages 

Eighteen states and Washington, D.C., permit preregistration beginning at 16 years old: 

• California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia and Washington. 

Three states permit preregistration beginning at 17 years old: 

• Nevada, New Jersey and West Virginia. 

Seven states set another age at which an individual may preregister: 

• Alaska permits those under 18 to register anytime within 90 days before they turn 18.
• Colorado allows preregistration beginning at 15 years old, effective January 2025.
• Georgia, Iowa, Missouri and Oklahoma permit registration of those who are 17½ (if they turn 18 before the next election).
• Texas permits a person who is 17 years and 10 months of age to register. 

Twenty-two states do not specifically address an age for registration and instead allow an individual to register if they will turn 18 by the next election (this usually refers to the next general election, with some exceptions). In some states this may mean that youths could register as soon as the previous general election is over, so that could be as early as 16 years of age. Reach out to your state election officials for details. 

• Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming. 

North Dakota does not require individuals to register before an election, but to qualify as an elector an individual must be at least 18 on Election Day. 

States Without Online Voter Registration 

Please be aware that Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming do not allow online voter registration. Because the process involves paperwork, prospective voters in these states should be proactive and register well before their state’s deadline.