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AARP AARP States Wyoming Voters

AARP Wyoming's Voter Engagement

If you are a voter over the age of 50, congratulate yourself. You are a part of the age group most likely to vote at a state and national level. Of course, who to vote for is another question, and one AARP hopes to help answer.

The Facts about the 50+ Voter

First, the important stuff we tell everyone we work with:  AARP is a non-partisan organization, which does not endorse candidates, nor does it have a political action campaign (PAC) for the purposes of donating to candidates at any level of government. AARP also does not allow political advertising to its membership in its social media channels, its newsletter, or other publications it produces. In other words, we don’t make money on elections, and we don’t give money to candidates. We don’t tell you who to vote for.

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What we do around election time is let our members know what the candidates have to say on the issues important to the voter age 50 and over. That is important because the 50+ voter takes part in the process and, as they say, the world is run by those who show up.

According to the US Census, 90.5 percent of all registered voters age 50 and over participated in the 2016 election and 75.2 percent of voters participated in the 2014 midterm election. In Wyoming those numbers are lower, but remain impressive with 76 percent of voters age 60 and over voting in the 2016 election.

The Plan Going Forward

This year,  AARP Wyoming is working to make sure candidates for local, state, and national offices understand what is important to voters, age 50 and over in the Cowboy State. You will see AARP Wyoming engaged in a number of voter engagement efforts over the next six months, including: :

  • Video Voter Guide:  In July, we sat down with each candidate running for Governor and asked them the same five questions. We offered them one minute to respond to each question and we will cut up that video to let you see how each candidate responded. The questions included queries on landline telephone service, retirement savings, telehealth, home and community-based services, and finally, the state budget. Those videos will be on the AARP Facebook and Twitter pages in August.
  • Candidate Webinar:  In August, AARP will host an online presentation for candidates, for local through national seats, to discuss why the 50+ voter should be a focus of their campaign and how to reach this segment of the population. This will allow the candidates to better understand who the 50+ voter is and what issues they care about.
  • Teletown Halls:  After the primary election season, expect to hear from AARP Wyoming regarding teletown halls for candidates ahead of the general election. This is your chance to talk directly to the candidates about your concerns.
  • What’s Up Wyoming:  Each month we share a video featuring State Director Sam Shumway on Facebook letting our members know what we have been doing on behalf of the 50+ in Wyoming. Next month Sam will lay out what we saw from the candidates during the primary season.=
  • Prior to the general election, look for a special edition of the AARP Wyoming Newsletter in your mailbox.
  • Once the election season has passed, we hope to work with our local senior centers to bring winning candidates to the centers to get a better sense of what our local facilities do and the need that exists in Wyoming.
  • We are also exploring opportunities to sponsor/moderate  debates, and candidate forums, all with a focus on making sure our candidates for office understand the priorities of the 50+ voter.

The good news is, thus far the candidates we have sat down with seem to value the demographic and are very aware of the voting history. With your help we will make sure that focus continues.

About AARP Wyoming
Contact information and more from your state office. Learn what we are doing to champion social change and help you live your best life.