In 2023 dozens of major cities and counties across the country will elect their local executives, council members, and school boards. Several states will also hold statewide elections, including three (Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi) with gubernatorial seats on the ballot. 

Though they tend to be less well-known than federal elected officials, state and local elected officials often have an even greater impact on their constituents’ day-to-day lives, with influence over everything from public safety and criminal justice to reproductive healthcare, housing access and affordability, the environment, local minimum wages, school funding, and voting rights. 

At public universities especially, state and local officials often play a key role in determining things like university leadership, tuition rates, and funding. Our friends at the Fair Election Center’s Campus Vote Project have a resource to help you explain why student voting matters overall, and specifically why college student voters matter.

Here are some sample messaging formats to help make the case for why 2023 elections matter to your campus community. Adapt these to your own campus community’s context as part of your messaging to encourage student voter participation and awareness for 2023 elections:

• Major issues don’t take years off. Vote in your 2023 state and local elections to make your voice heard on everything from school funding to public safety. Learn more here: [link to preferred local election / online voter registration website]

   

• [hot-button local, state or national issue(s)] is on the ballot THIS YEAR. Help shape the community you want to live in by showing up to vote in 2023. **Note** be careful to stay within the generally accepted limits of nonpartisanship. For more guidance check out the SLSV Coalition’s Nonpartisan Messaging Guidance.**
  
  

• State and local officials decide issues that touch your life every. Single. Day. Vote in 2023 to make your voice heard on the issues that impact you directly!

Student voters wield immense power in any election, but their impact is especially potent on the state and local levels. In 2023 already, student voters made headlines when they showed up in unprecedented numbers  to participate in a Wisconsin Supreme Court election that will directly impact future rulings on reproductive health care access and redistricting. 

Student impact is especially potent on the community level, where students often make up a large portion of the electorate, and where campus-relevant issues and candidates often appear on the ballot. 

Learn more about the potential impact of youth civic engagement in your area using the Center for Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) “Reaching All Youths Strengthens Engagement” Index. 

Here are some sample messaging formats to help make the case to students about why they should vote in state and local elections this year. Adapt these to your own campus community’s context as part of your messaging:

• When students make their voices heard, [your state / city / county] officials listen. Make sure every local and state official on the ballot in 2023, from [example of one office up for election] to [example of another office up for election] knows student interests matter in our community, and at the ballot box. 
  
  

• Don’t wait until 2024 to make an impact at the ballot box! This year already, Wisconsin students turned out in unprecedented numbers for a state Supreme Court election, and we can do the same at this year’s [local / state office] election. When students make their voices heard, leaders listen.
  
  
• Students make up X% of [your community / state]’s voting population. In 2023, we have the power to decide elections that will directly impact everything from [relevant issue] to [relevant issue]. Use your power at the ballot box to shape the future you want. [**Note** There are lots of ways to get this number. You can compare total student populations to city populations or even look at total turnout numbers from previous elections. It may also be possible to find census data that shows population of enrolled students in an area.**]

Control of state-level government is at stake in five states in 2023:

• Virginia and New Jersey are holding state legislature elections. 
• Mississippi and Louisiana are holding gubernatorial elections AND state legislature elections. 
• Kentucky is holding a gubernatorial election.

   

Most state governments function similarly to the Federal government, in that they have a legislature that writes and passes laws (similar to Congress) and an executive branch led by a governor (similar to the President). 

State governments typically handle issues such as criminal justice and public safety, statewide transportation infrastructure, and the statewide administration of federal programs like Medicaid. In recent years, hot-button issues like abortion, gender identity, and data privacy, as well as higher education, have increasingly been the subject of state-level laws and actions by elected officials. 

Here are some sample messaging formats to convey the significance of state-level offices and elections, the impact they can have on students’ lives, and the impact student voters can have on their elections and actions: 

• Control of [your state]’s government is at stake THIS FALL. Don’t let others decide for you – make your voice heard in elections that will directly impact your daily life, including the education and resources available on your campus. 
  
  

• What do [Issue X], [Issue Y], and [Issue Z] have in common? They’re on the ballot THIS FALL. Don’t wait until 2024 to have your say on how these issues are governed in [your state].
  
  
• More and more, state governments are intervening in higher education – on everything from funding, to professor tenure, to even what subjects faculty are allowed to teach. Don’t let others decide your college experience for you. Vote in this fall’s statewide elections.
  
  
• In 2017, control of Virginia’s state legislature was decided by a single vote! You could be the one who decides how your state government handles [relevant issue(s) in your community]. Show up this fall and vote!

Local elections are taking place in 30 different states this fall, including in many of the largest cities in the US. Most communities are governed on the local level by an executive (typically a mayor or county executive), and a legislative body (typically a city council or county council).

Local governments often have the most impact on their constituents’ day-to-day lives, and typically play an active role in community planning and land use, shaping and governing law enforcement and school systems, and providing public transportation. 

Here are some sample messaging formats to convey the significance of local offices and elections, the impact they can have on students’ lives, and the impact student voters can have on their elections and actions: 

• From [local issue X] to [local issue Y], decisions that impact your life are made by your local government. This fall, decide for yourself and vote in your local elections!
  
  

• Local elections are where your vote can make the most impact on issues that touch your life every day. Show up for your community this fall and vote for candidates who will represent your interests in the local issues that touch your life every day. 
  
  

• You interact with your local government every. Single. Day. Don’t let someone else decide who represents your community – vote this fall to make your voice heard on the issues that touch your life.

According to Ballotpedia, nearly 9,000 school districts are holding school board elections in 2023. They represent nearly 70% of all US school districts and are taking place in 35 different states. Chances are, your community or one very close to you is electing a school board this year. 

School boards are comprised of elected community members, often volunteers, who provide governance of local public schools by deciding on issues such as budget allocation, hiring school principals and superintendents, and curriculum guidance and standards. They have a significant say in safety procedures, diversity, equity and inclusion, and standardized testing in a given school district. 

Here is a sample message to convey the significance of school boards, the impact they can have on students’ lives, and the impact student voters can have on their elections and actions: 

• Public education shapes our community. Local school boards shape public education. Help our community decide what it passes on to the next generation of students by voting in our local school board election.

Elected officials play a vital role in administering free and fair elections. On the state level, most elections are run by the Secretary of State, and at the municipal level by the city or county Clerk. In 2023, three states (Kentucky, Mississippi, and Louisiana) will elect a Secretary of State, and hundreds of municipalities will elect a Clerk. 

While their responsibilities typically vary from state to state and include some non-election-related duties such as maintaining public records, state and local election officials play an enormous role in determining voter access and equity for their constituents, including helping determine vote-counting procedures and the location of polling places. 

Here are some sample messaging formats to convey the significance of local and state election officials, the impact they can have on students’ lives, and the impact student voters can have on their elections and actions: 

• Did you know that [local/state] election officials play a major role in determining how, when, and where you can vote? And did you know that your [state/county/city]’s chief election official is on the ballot this fall? Help shape your democracy by exercising your democratic right to vote in 2023. 
  
  

• Recent elections have made [local/state] election officials more important than ever. Help ensure your [state/community]’s elections remain free, fair, and accessible by voting in this fall’s election. 

The vast majority of criminal justice procedures and policing occur at the local and state levels. Each state’s top law enforcement official is known as the Attorney General, an elected official. Offices vary on the local level, but often include sheriffs, who are elected to run local law enforcement, and district attorneys, who serve as the chief prosecutors of local criminal cases. 

Here are some sample messaging formats to convey the significance of local and state law enforcement officials, the impact they can have on students’ lives, and the impact student voters can have on their elections and actions: 

• Did you know that elected officials play a major role in shaping the way [your state / community] is policed? And did you know some of those elected officials are on the ballot THIS FALL? Don’t let your [state/community] decide how its laws are enforced without your input. 
  
  

• Public safety and law enforcement are on the ballot this fall in [your state/community]! Be sure to vote for the [Attorney General / sheriff / District Attorney] candidates that share your vision for law enforcement and public safety.
  
  
• In 2023, three states (Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi) will elect an Attorney General, and hundreds of municipalities will elect a sheriff, district attorney, or other local law enforcement-focused official.