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Campaign, Deliberate, & Vote


SPB Coordinator:

The steering committee presents the final projects to the school community. Students campaign for ballot proposals through posters, presentations, assemblies, video ads, social media, and/or the school newspaper. With support from SPB Coordinators, SPB Sponsors and steering committees facilitate opportunities to deliberate about the ballot items amongst the student body and conduct a school-wide vote, allowing students to decide which projects to fund.

 

Gather Campaign and Deliberation Examples

SPB Coordinators can encourage sites to share examples of the student campaign and deliberation materials and tactics to share with others across the district. This may also help to ensure that only approved projects make it to the ballot and continue to garner buy-in across various stakeholders.

Coordinate Vote Day Logistics

SPB Coordinators work directly with SPB Advisors, community partners, SPB Sponsors, and potentially local elections officials to coordinate logistics for each campus vote day. Centralized voting experiences are highly encouraged to simulate the adult experience of voting. However, schools may conduct voting online using Google Forms, in their classrooms or at a voting center on campus using paper ballots, or a mixture of both. If applicable, schools can also partner with their local elections officials to offer voter registration for eligible and interested students, staff, parents, and families.

Spread the Word about SPB

SPB Coordinators might alert local media of vote day activities to garner interest and support from community members around SPB. They can also work with SPB Advisors to capture photos, videos, and testimonials from stakeholders to help highlight the impact of SPB on the school community. Use social media to announce winning projects, share voter turnout rates, and celebrate the number of students registered to vote for future elections (if applicable).

 

Tips for Campaigning, Deliberating, & Vote Day Planning:

  • Make sure the vote is completed with plenty of time for project implementation before the end of the school year.
  • Ask SPB Sponsors to choose a Vote Day within a specific time period to ensure the date of the election works best for each school.
  • Ensure key stakeholders, principals, and teachers are aware of Vote Day plans for their school.
  • Partner with local voter engagement and electoral institutions to register students (and possibly staff and families) who are eligible to vote in state and federal elections.
  • Drop off or coordinate drop off of materials (ballots, stickers, instruction sheets) to SPB Sponsors before the Vote Day.
  • Provide incentives for students to vote (e.g., “I Voted” stickers, snacks, extra credit).
  • Engage the whole school community by hosting a vote for families and teachers.
  • Think about ways to track, gather, and share SPB Vote Day metrics (i.e., winning projects and projects on the ballot, voter turnout or number of votes cast, and number of students registered to vote if applicable).

 

Implementation and Eval