We Want to Know Week in Review September 18, 2017

What voters want to know from the candidates for Governor of Virginia

Virginia voters had many questions for candidates for Governor the week of September 11, 2017.  AARP Virginia volunteers were out at events around the Commonwealth, collecting questions from voters and taking their photos with the #FlatPeople. The questions were posted on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #WW2K, and candidates Ed Gillespie, Cliff Hyra and Ralph Northam were tagged.

Here’s a compilation of the questions from the past week:

September 11:  What would you do to Save the Bay?

September 12:  Are you in favor of Medicaid Expansion?

September 13: What is your plan to bring new jobs to Virginia?

September 14: What are you going to do about rising tuition costs?

September 15: How will you support caregivers in Virginia?

September 16: What do you commit to do as Governor?

September 17: What will you do to ensure that Immigration And Customs Enforcement (ICE) stays out of our schools and Virginia?

 

We Want to Know is a grassroots social media effort conducted by AARP volunteers and voters across the state.  AARP volunteers attend election-related and community events such as candidate town hall meetings, forums, and debates, as well as fairs and festivals.  Using “Flat People” props that are life-sized cutouts of actual AARP volunteers, the advocates give voters the opportunity to write down their questions for the candidates on a white board, take the voters’ photos posing with the Flat People, and post the pictures and questions on AARP Virginia’s Twitter and Facebook pages.

The voter engagement project launched on September 6 and voter questions began being posted on September 11.

AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 38 million members and offices in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP works to strengthen communities and advocate for what matters most to families with a focus on health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also works for individuals in the marketplace by sparking new solutions and allowing carefully chosen, high-quality products and services to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the nation's largest circulation publications, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit  www.aarp.org or follow @AARP and @AARPadvocates on social media.