When credit union members get involved in an election it signals to legislators that credit union policy matters, CUNA Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer for Political Action Trey Hawkins told CUSO Magazine in an interview published this week. Hawkins discussed CUNA’s launch of the “Credit Unions Vote” Member Activation Program (MAP) Campaign and why it’s essential for credit unions to activate their members.

“What is different in 2020 is that the interest in voting is greatly increased. This year we began the Credit Unions Vote website earlier in March with the primaries. By August, we are already seeing the numbers we saw from Labor Day to Election Day last year,” Hawkins said. “COVID is really affecting how people are thinking about voting. We are receiving thousands of applications for absentee ballots and to vote early.”

The MAP Campaign provides credit unions with downloadable, customizable email templates (long and short versions) that they can align with their normal branding and communications efforts

Visitors to CreditUnionsVote.com can check their registration status (and register if needed) and polling places, and the site is updated regularly with the latest mail-in and absentee ballot information for local districts.