Our guide to making your vote count
What would our country look like if the people who feed us and the communities, workers, land and water that make that possible were at the center of our decision-making?
Read on to learn how to use your vote to help shape a better future for our farm and food system.
Why your vote matters
Whether you’re a farmer or you live in farm country or not, we’re all impacted by our food and farm system because we’re all eaters! More than ever, we need to let politicians know that farmers and local food systems need their support, and that the communities they serve care about these issues and are paying attention. More than ever, we need to let politicians know that farmers and local food systems need their support, and that the communities they serve care about these issues.
Our goal is to put people in power who will pass policies that create the collective impact we want to see — a process that starts long before election day. Public opinion determines which candidates are on the ballot and shapes the issues that they stand up for. Our vote is our power!
Get ready
Check your registration and make your voting plan
→ 2Get informed
On your candidates and the issues farmers face today
→ 3Take action
Connect with grassroots orgs and make candidates aware of agricultural issues
→Engage early and often in the electoral process to make your voice heard and ensure our elected officials stand up for farmers. As you prepare to vote, prepare to vote for farmers!
Get ready
Don't wait until election day! Make your voting plan now.
Pay attention to registration deadlines, so you don’t miss your chance to make your voice heard! Additionally, some state primaries require you to be registered as a member of that party in order to vote. Check your state’s voting rules to see what primary you are eligible to vote in.
Where will you vote? Find out with this polling place locator.
If you plan to vote by mail, check your state’s vote by mail deadlines and request and mail your ballot in time to vote (ballots can also be dropped in person at designated dropboxes; see your state’s voting rules for guidance).
Because electoral systems vary state-by-state and even county-by-county, there’s not one method for finding local candidate lists. Here are some tips for researching your local elections:
- Search “[YOUR COUNTY] election board,” and “[YOUR CITY] candidates.”
- Your secretary of state‘s office will also have information on your state’s elections. If you’re in Alaska, Hawaii or Utah, your lieutenant governor’s office will have information.
- Your secretary of state’s office has information on election security, registration deadlines and more.
- Check out this resource from the Brennan Center for Justice on voting facts vs. myths.
There are intentional and active efforts to keep many people, especially those in rural places, small towns and voters of color, from voting. Organizers are working hard to ensure that every voter can rightfully cast their vote for the candidates of their choice.
”If you don’t care about farming, you’re not going to support farming. If you are a candidate and you’re running … I want to know that you care about me, a small farmer.
”I think all our politicians should have to go on a field trip one day and visit commercial farms versus family farms and ask these questions.
”Making sure that policy enables small farms and urban farms to continue to operate and continue to build a sustainable food system where people know where their food is coming from, I think is a tremendous thing you should consider when you’re considering who you’re voting for because he who controls the food controls the community and without food, there is no community.
”The first step in supporting farmers, regardless of whatever your political persuasion is, is voting. It’s about being active once you, whoever’s in office, to make sure they know what your needs are.
”We put these individuals in office. It’s their job to do our will. And in many cases, because we don’t speak, they do the will of others because that’s who is speaking to them. So as they say, the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Be a squeaky wheel.
Get informed
Resources for becoming an informed voter
To vote for candidates who support family farmers, you’ll need to know your candidates and what they stand for. It helps to understand what our agriculture and food policy landscape looks like.
About This Resource
Farm Aid is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is nonpartisan and does not endorse political candidates. This resource is intended as an educational resource to support general voter and candidate education and is not an endorsement for any candidate or party.
Take action
Stand up for farmers on the campaign trail and beyond.
Connecting with advocacy groups can help you learn about local agriculture policy and understand what issues are playing out in your community.
- Farm Aid’s Farmer Resource Network allows you to look up organizations and resources in your community.
- Farm Aid’s guide to Advocacy and Organizing has helpful resources for starting your advocacy journey.
- The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has members around the country; each of these organizations are great advocates for sustainable agriculture policy.
- Connect with your local food policy council. Food policy councils work to support equitable, healthy and sustainable food systems and can connect you to other food and farming organizations in your community.
Help candidates understand why they should care about food and agriculture issues.
- Visit your candidates’ campaign websites to find their contact information, and then reach out to them with a message about your concerns and the issues that matter to you.
- Attend an in-person event with your candidate(s) and ask them to speak on your issue (check their schedules on their websites to find an event).
- This Candidate Engagement Guide from Climate Max explains is a comprehensive resource on engaging candidates, with everything from hosting events and to conducting questionnaires.
- Conduct a candidate questionnaire and share it with your community. We’ve got a few suggested questions to get you started.
Host an event or write a letter to demonstrate that a broad base of constituents care about your issue.
- Attend an event hosted by candidates or that candidates will attend with a group and make some noise about your priorities.
- Get together with a group of fellow citizens who also care about farmers and plan an event. Invite local candidates to hear from your community and farmers.
- If you can show that a significant number of voters care about an issue, it’s more likely that candidates will listen to you.
- Guide to organizing a candidate forum for nonprofits
- If you’re a farmer: Invite candidates to make a campaign stop on their farm to hear directly from the farming community on issues that matter.
- How to plan a farm visit with candidates
- Ask farmers to share their experiences and challenges. “Who are you and what is your farm is all about? What keeps you up at night?”
- Ask candidates: “How would you address these issues?”
- Consider recording conversations between farmers and candidates to share on social media and to hold candidates accountable.
- How to plan a farm visit with candidates
- Keep in mind: 501(c)3 (“non-profit”) organizations cannot endorse candidates and must remain nonpartisan, but they can encourage voting and advocacy. Learn more about the rules and how nonprofit organizations can educate candidates and voters.
- Did you know that representatives pay close attention to local news media and often flag op-eds and articles written by their constituents about issues that impact their districts? Writing an op-ed is a great way to get the attention of your elected officials and candidates for office.
- This guide will walk you through all the steps you need to write a strong op-ed.
- Keep in mind: Op-eds are especially effective and more likely to be published if they address a current event or issue.
- Once candidates become elected officials, it is important to continue advocating! Introduce yourself, stay in touch regularly with their office, and invite them to events.
- Use our guide for contacting your elected officials to learn more.
Remember, messages are the most impactful when they’re personalized. Use this template to write a message to your representatives.
“Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I am a constituent from [YOUR TOWN/CITY]. I am writing to you because I am concerned about [AN ISSUE YOU CARE ABOUT]. Throughout the country, and right here in [YOUR STATE], our food and farming systems face unprecedented challenges.
Corporate consolidation in our food system has raised costs for farmers and eaters, while driving down the price farmers can get for their products. The playing field is stacked against small and midsized operations and beginning, young and other underserved farmers and ranchers–the folks that make up the backbone of family farm agriculture–in favor of large-scale, industrial and corporate-owned operations. Young people seeking to start farming face barriers to beginning their careers, including high land costs and difficulty accessing credit and financial assistance. Climate change is making severe weather events more intense and less predictable; farmers who are impacted by climate disasters are often left without a safety net or means of recovering. Meanwhile, vulnerable families who face challenges to put food on the table are facing cuts to nutrition assistance programs.
I urge you to prioritize policies that support family farmers, push back against corporate consolidation in our food system, and increase the sustainability and resiliency of our farms. Our farmers need robust support and meaningful policy change, not more business-as-usual legislation. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]”
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