Get Out the Vote—and Protect It

The Union of Concerned Scientists and partner organizations provide a guide for science advocates to combat voter suppression and disinformation during the 2022 US elections. The document outlines three primary actions: 'tripling the vote' through peer reminders, running voter registration and vote plan drives using tools like TurboVote and BallotReady.org, and volunteering as poll watchers or workers through the Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights. It emphasizes that protecting democracy is essential for achieving science-based solutions to environmental and public health challenges.

• The document argues that democracy reform and voting rights protections are necessary prerequisites for implementing science-based solutions to environmental and public health challenges, noting that marginalized communities have been effectively disenfranchised by laws and policies.
• To increase civic engagement, the guide recommends a 'Triple the Vote' tactic, which involves recruiting individuals to pledge to remind three friends to vote via phone, text, social media, or in person.
• The guide outlines a framework for running voter registration drives, emphasizing the use of concrete 'vote plans' (determining when, how, and with what preparation a person will vote) and the use of tools such as TurboVote and BallotReady.org.
• The document identifies disinformation as a tool used to 'confuse and demoralize voters' and encourages advocates to provide community members with tools to 'inoculate' themselves against it.
• In response to state-level voter suppression and disinformation, the guide urges advocates to volunteer as poll workers or poll watchers, specifically mentioning the Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights as a partner for election protection efforts.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2022). Get Out the Vote—and Protect It. https://ucs-documents.s3.amazonaws.com/science-and-democracy/Vote-Monthly-Action-Guide.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Get Out the Vote—and Protect It. 2022. https://ucs-documents.s3.amazonaws.com/science-and-democracy/Vote-Monthly-Action-Guide.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Get Out the Vote—and Protect It |date=2022 |url=https://ucs-documents.s3.amazonaws.com/science-and-democracy/Vote-Monthly-Action-Guide.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2022get, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Get Out the Vote—and Protect It}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2022}, url = {https://ucs-documents.s3.amazonaws.com/science-and-democracy/Vote-Monthly-Action-Guide.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }