Four ways residents are boosting civic engagement ahead of the presidential election

With the presidential election around the corner, residents of 2Life Communities have been busy volunteering their time to boost civic engagement. Here’s how. 

Working the polls at Brighton Campus 

2Life’s Brighton Campus is a polling location for Ward 21, Precinct 13, which boasts one of the consistently highest turnouts of any ward in Boston. It’s also home to residents such as Cheryl Pavlik, who is one of a handful who works the polls to make sure voting runs smoothly. “Frankly it’s a bit grueling — we start at 6:00 in the morning and finish at 9:00 at night,” says Cheryl. “But it’s important work, and somebody has to do it.” 

Mobilizing voters in swing states 

This fall, residents at Brown Family House and Shillman House sent out more than 300 handwritten postcards to voters in swing states to remind them to get out and vote. Although volunteering for door-to-door canvassing is not always an option for many older adults, handwriting personalized postcards usually is — and studies show these messages are effective. Residents gathered to pen messages to voters in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington. These postcards join the hundreds of thousands of others hitting mailboxes this election season. 

Registering other residents to vote 

Brighton Campus teamed up with Mayor Michelle Wu to host a voter registration party where 20 residents were successfully registered to vote in time to participate in the September primary. Mayor Michelle Wu even stopped by for a visit. 

Giving advice to younger voters

GBH visited Brown Family House to ask older voters to share advice for younger voters. Residents offered motivation for the younger people on how to engage with the election and get ready to vote. Check out the short video to hear their thoughts. 

Voter participation matters across our campuses and across our country. Not sure where to vote? Find your polling location here.