Leading up to Election Day, November 8, the Aurora Public Library District (APLD) has put together reputable, nonpartisan information on how to register to vote, ways to vote, and voting rights. Our hope is to get folks excited about exercising their rights to vote, starting with the future generations of voters.
One way to help citizens want to be involved in the democratic decision-making process is to create awareness at a young age. To achieve this goal, there are voting activities for children at both the Eola Road Branch and West Branch, November 1–15. These activities allow children to learn about the candidates, such as favorite color, best book character, fill out a ballot, cast their vote, and experience the joy or defeat of seeing their candidate’s outcome. Children will get to meet a real political representative during Storytime with State representative Barbara Hernandez at Santori Library in the evening October 27. Participants will read stories, sing songs, and share a snack while learning the importance of voting.
Even if some are too young to vote in the upcoming election, they still can identify as voters, or those who care about their community and want to make their voices heard. For that reason, we’ve created a Sticker Design Contest to inspire teens in grades 6–12 to think about the voting process and how democracy affects their lives. The I’m A Voter Sticker Design Contest is accepting entries until October 7. The winning design will be voted upon by members of our Teen Advisory Board and announced to the public October 28. After the contest is over, the winning sticker will be printed in our Makerspace and then distributed at all our locations for giveaways.
Teen Librarian Flannery Crump touches on the importance of voter education for young people: “The idea for this contest came from a desire to empower young people, even if they’re not of legal voting age. We want teens to feel inspired, involved, and invested, in democracy. It’s never too early to think about making your vote count!” To find out how to enter, visit www.aurorapubliclibrary.org/events.
For those of legal voting age, the first step to make your vote count is to be registered! The Library recently appointed 19 staff members across locations as deputy registrars to assist any Illinois resident who needs to register. You can register to vote at the Library before October 11. We have voter registration kiosks to utilize for online registration available until October 23. If you have questions about voting, or registration, we will be host to a bilingual, voting-themed edition of Ask A Librarian Sunday, Oct. 9. This virtual program will show attendees several tools and resources to educate voters and get them ready for the voting process, such as our voter resources webpage.
Genealogy and community history librarian Cailín Cullen has been instrumental in cultivating information for the webpage (www.aurorapubliclibrary.org/voter-resources): “We are so excited to be working on this Library-wide initiative to get out the vote! Our goals are to promote voter registration and readiness, to provide information and resources for our community, and to get people excited about voting! Be sure to look out for voting information at your favorite branch, or on our social media platforms over the next few weeks, or stop by the Library to register to vote!”
The Aurora Public Library District’s nonpartisan voter engagement initiative aims to promote voter readiness and provide information and resources to our community. We hope everyone can find a way to be involved in this year’s election, including adults, new citizens, and young people voting in their first election. In order to increase voter turnout, we need to get people registered and get them informed! Both the Library and the voter resources webpage can be visited for more information.
Andrea Tiberi is the communications coordinator for the Aurora Public Library District.