Residents Vote! ✔️

GME Toolkit

We hope that these resources will help you engage your residents and fellows in this important civic activity. We want to help our residents, fellows and students:

ACGME 2023 CPR IV.B.1.a).(1).(e), IV.B.1.f), IV.B.1.f).(1).(c),

Engage your Institution's Government Affairs/Advocacy Office

The GA office is often excited to partner with initiatives to increase your residents' and fellows' participation in the political process. Apart from having deep knowledge of the issues, they may be able to directly support you by:

  1. Vetting your recommended websites to confirm non-partisan content
  2. Editing your email communications
  3. Providing speakers or content expertise for Q&A with the residents
  4. Funding food, gift card drawings or other "get-out-the-vote" efforts
  5. Creating opportunities for your residents to visit lawmakers and advocate for positions important to them
  6. Ensuring alignment between institutional advocacy goals and your efforts
Check with your Legal Department

Voting advocacy efforts may run afoul of regulations that apply to non-profit and other organizations. For example, endorsing individual candidates or political parties may be problematic. We recommend you check with your legal department before starting a campaign. Here are some important considerations to discuss while talking to them:

  1. Your goal is to encourage people to vote; you are specifically not telling them who to vote for
  2. Partnership with the Government Affairs department will ensure alignment with institutional goals and help avoid negative media coverage
  3. They can review the privacy policies and terms of use of your external resources (e.g. vot-er.org) to minimize risk to the institution or employees
Advocacy References & Resources

Here are some important resources that can help you motivate your residents, or find information about ongoing federal or state healthcare advocacy efforts.

  1. Voting is a Public Health Issue - Addressing Voter Participation and Engagement Among Trainees
  2. Voting Behavior of Physicians and Healthcare Professionals
  3. Voting and the Role of Physicians
  4. Do doctors vote?
  5. Hey, doctors: Don’t be no-shows (again) on Election Day
  6. National orgs like the AAMC, AMA, AOA, NMA, etc.
  7. State-specific issues: Contact your state medical society. Many regions have county- or regional-level organizations that may be helpful
  8. Most specialty societies have an advocacy arm, some have state-level subsidiaries as well
e-mail Template Generator
In addition to the below template email to introduce your institutional leaders to this project, you can use this form to generate recommended emails to send to all residents, fellows and students. Dates for the upcoming general or primary elections can be found at your state's website.

Send this message to all trainees on

Subject: National Voter Registration Day

Hello Everyone,

Happy #NationalVoterRegistrationDay! We think it is important for our students, residents, and fellows to be involved in state and national elections. Please remember to vote in the election on .

Residents and fellows sometimes have schedule conflicts that preclude voting in state and national elections. You may be eligible to vote by mail or vote early in-person at your convenience. Visit https://vote.health/HENRYFORD for a quick walkthrough on how to register to vote, request an absentee ballot or learn about voting in our state.

Here are some unbiased sources for research on the issues and candidates. If you know of other good, non-partisan sources, please share them with us and your friends.

If there is anything that medical education can do to facilitate this, please let us know! We welcome your suggestions on other ways we can facilitate your involvement in the political process. Please reach out if you have any questions or feedback.

Your vote matters!

Send this message to all trainees

Subject: Upcoming Elections

Dear Residents & Fellows,

The election is just around the corner, and we want to make sure you have the right information to engage this year.

First, make sure that you are registered to vote to exercise your civic duty! Many of us have moved within the past year and may have forgotten to update our voter registration. Second, you may be eligible to vote by mail or vote early in-person. Visit https://vote.health/HENRYFORD for a quick walkthrough on how to register to vote, request an absentee ballot or learn about voting in our state.

Here are some unbiased sources for research on the issues and candidates. If you know of other good, non-partisan sources, please share them with us and your friends.

Your vote matters!

Suggested message to introduce this initiative to your CEO or other leaders

Subject: New Initiative to Increase Residents' Civic Participation

Replace crossed-out text with institution-specific info

Dear Name,

I would like to request your support in joining a nationwide effort to encourage our residents' participation in state and national elections.

Research has shown that physicians have lower voting rates than lawyers and the general population, and that our students, residents and fellows often cite schedule conflicts as a barrier to voting. Residency is an important time for professional identity formation, and behaviors learned during residency have been shown to be durable for decades after graduation. Med-Ed leaders across the country are therefore starting get-out-the-vote efforts aimed at:

  • Keeping residents' voter registrations up to date
  • Encouraging mail-in voting when available, and
  • Providing non-partisan information to create an informed electorate

I will partner with our legal and government affairs offices to vet all information we provide. No additional funding is required. Helping our residents perform their civic duty will directly support our institutional mission, promote our employees' well-being and ultimately improve the quality of care we provide. I believe that highly educated, engaged and informed voters can help address some of the biggest problems facing our community.

I would love to hear your thoughts about this initiative and am happy to discuss this further at your convenience.

Thank you for your consideration,

Your Name
Your Title