Get Ready for Federal Election 2025: Action Checklists for Voters and Non-Voters
Author
Anna Huschka
My name is Anna (she/her), and I am a white settler located on the lands of the Williams Treaty First Nations – the Alderville First Nations, Beausoleil First Nation, Chippewas of Georgina Island, Chippewas of Rama, Curve Lake First Nation, Hiawatha First Nation, and Mississaugas of Scugog Island. I do not intend to speak on behalf of any communities I am not a part of. I hope to leverage my position of privilege as a cisgender white woman to amplify the efforts and voices of those doing so much work towards climate justice in their communities across the country. I want to be a part of challenging the Euro-settler-centric and Western values that currently shape climate policies, to counteract colonial and systemic barriers, ensuring that the concerns, exposures, and knowledges of diverse communities are adequately incorporated into environmental policies and projects.
I am privileged to have the right to vote without having to have fought for it, and recognize the decades of advocacy of non-white communities and women to obtain this right. Through the development of resources like this one, I hope to make voting more accessible and combat misinformation, while also recognizing the physical barriers many communities face, including lack of accessible voting locations. With my work on elections resources, I hope to encourage a trend of political awareness and civic engagement, including through voting.
Editor
Mei-Ling Patterson
Be a prepared and informed voter
LEARN about your voting options
□ Check your voter registration status and register to vote if you haven’t already
□ Research your voting options and determine how you want to vote
□ On Election Day April 28, 2025
□ In advance April 18 – 21, 2025
□ By mail (registration due 6pm ET April 22nd, 2025, ballot due 6pm ET April 28, 2025)
RESEARCH who you want to vote for
□ Reflect on the issues that matter to you most
*What is happening in your everyday life that you would like to see the federal government address?*
□ Check out Shake Up The Establishment’s Non-Partisan Platform Comparison Chart to see what the major political parties are promising
□ Research the candidates running in your riding
*Remember you’re electing a representative, not a Prime Minister*
VOTE and make it social
□ Check in with the people in your life who are eligible to vote and make sure they have a voting plan
□ Plan with your friends to go to the polls together!
□ Make yourself a voting playlist
□ Ensure you all have an eligible piece of ID to present at your voting location
□ Treat yourself to a coffee or a sweet treat after you’ve cast your ballot
What can I do besides voting, or if I am not eligible to vote?
LEARN about your options for engaging
□ Get involved with electoral processes by applying to work or volunteer at the polls.
□ Engage with organizations that are working on the issues that matter to you most, find organizations near you by looking at Shake Up The Establishment’s Map The System
□ Join a political party to help select leaders and shape what issues the party is including in their platforms
*Each political party’s website will have information on their membership qualifications and registration process*
□ Campaign and canvas for candidates in your riding
RESEARCH other ways to hold decision-makers accountable
□ Familiarize yourself with the responsibilities of each level of government (federal, provincial/territorual, municipal)
□ Write emails, letters, or make phones calls to decision-makers asking them to take action on the issues you care about
CONNECT with the voters in your life
□ Make a text template to send to everyone you know with information about going to the polls, how the electoral system works, etc.
□ Facilitate non-partisan conversations with your friends and family about voting
□ Support the people in your life who are eligible to vote by offering to drive them to the polls, watch their kids, and other ways to make voting more accessible for them
