By Eileen McIntyre
The League of Women Voters of Hingham recently launched a “Well Informed Voter” calendar, a month-by-month guide to events and resources that can help citizens prepare for decisions at the local, state and national level through 2018.
The calendar is online with embedded links to helpful resources, and is also available as a free download from the recently-updated LWV Hingham website.
The calendar builds on a history of voter education initiatives by the LWV Hingham.
- For decades, LWV Hingham has organized the Warrant Review – educating voters on issues before Hingham’s open Town Meeting each year; and Candidates’ Night – a moderated introduction to those vying for all elected town positions.
- In 2016, LWV Hingham broadened its educational outreach with an 11-part “Well Informed Voter” column in the Hingham Journal. The series helped local voters confused that year by post-ballot candidate changes in two state legislative contests and created better understanding of four referendum questions on that November’s ballot.
Why a calendar?
“In my professional life and as a parent, I’d found it essential to plan ahead. But I was not as well organized when it came to my responsibilities as a citizen,” said LWV Hingham member Eileen McIntyre, who created the 2016 column and initiated the calendar project. “The ‘Well Informed Voter’ calendar can be a handy planning tool. In addition to helping voters prepare for decisions, the calendar points to opportunities for citizens to become more involved in local government.”
To assemble the information for the calendar, she took advantage of material available on the Massachusetts Secretary of State website, the Town Clerk’s page on the Town of Hingham website, and the LWV Hingham website. She also sat down with Hingham Town Clerk Eileen McCracken and vetted content with members of the LWV Hingham Steering Committee.
The LWV Hingham announced the availability of the calendar in a January story in the Hingham Journal and on the LWV Hingham Facebook page. The league also plans to distribute cards promoting the calendar at events, including Town Meeting in April.