
RESOURCES
The resources page is designed to get activists and Ambassadors prepared to be effective advocates online and in-person.
Because we want to keep you up to date about the latest news and most relevant information, our information is ever changing to reflect the rapidly evolving world we live in.
Candidate Information Guides
Build Your Own News Sources:
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HeadCount’s Cannabis Voter Project - This site lists all current members of Congress in each state and ranks them based on their voting history on Cannabis.
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NORML’s Smoke The Vote guide - This site lists candidates for state legislative office and their cannabis legislation voting history.
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Today's fast-paced society has information and news hitting you from every direction. Below is a guide we created to help you access a wide array of the most credible and up to date sources for getting news and information.
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Join conversations on social media using relevant hashtags, like #2020Election, #Biden2020, #Trump2020 and others.
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What are the candidates and campaigns saying? How much of it is true? What platforms and mediums are they using? What messages have worked? What missteps have they made? You can keep track of political advertising via this page or subscribe to. You can keep track of political advertising via this page. You can read about the accuracy of political advertising via this page or subscribe to the On Politics With Lisa Lerer newsletter to see the “Ad of the Week” analysis, like this one.
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Listen to a political podcast. You can search “The Daily” for episodes related to the election or politics, or choose from many other sources, like “The NPR Politics Podcast,” “FiveThirtyEight Politics” or KCRW’s “Left, Right & Center, and CCPC’s The Hope for Cannabis in America, and Hashin’ it Out with Nate.
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Curate your own stream of political news and opinion on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or any other social platform, but make sure to choose reliable sources from a variety of perspectives. To get out of your “political filter bubble” and help surface information from sources that will challenge your thinking, seek out information from a range of places and points of view, and from around the world. This three-step process can help you craft a better “news diet.”
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As we saw in the 2016 election, we need to be extra careful of hoaxes, fake news and misinformation. If you see something dubious in a political message, practice these good media literacy habits:
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First, read laterally to evaluate the source of the information you’re viewing.
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Then you might fact-check the message’s claims using a fact checker like FactCheck.org or Snopes.com.
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Notice propaganda techniques, such as name-calling, “glittering generalities” or logical fallacies.
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Watch out for your own confirmation or disconfirmation bias when you come across claims that either reinforce or challenge your existing beliefs.
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Become a Poll Worker! With so many different issues happening this year it's going to be imperative to make sure that the election happens as smoothly as possible. Normally, poll centers are staffed by senior citizens volunteering to be poll workers. Due to the pandemic that number has been reduced greatly this year. It is imperative that young people who know how to socially distance volunteer to work at poll stations to help guarantee everyone's votes are counted.
Visit VoteSaveAmerica.com to learn how to become a poll worker. Vote Save America is also actively putting together an “Adopt a State” program where volunteers can pick a specific state to focus on and then work with other volunteers that have also chosen that state. Vote Save America is a project of the Pod Save America podcast.
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Political Campaign Employment - Right now many campaigns from across the country are looking for staff. With many of these positions being virtual, meaning work from home. Here are a few links to campaign jobs that are listed on a few websites:
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A helpful guide on how to set ground rules for civil discourse developed by the US Courts system. CLICK HERE
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Make sure to sink your teeth in to this brief but must-read article by NPR on how to ensure an enjoyable political discussion for all involved. CLICK HERE
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Scientific America's techniques to advance the substance of your arguments will enhance you and your opponent's chemistry. CLICK HERE
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Helpful techniques to guide your approach to develop arguments and solve social issues will allow you to communicate your ideas more effectively. For fostering intellectual debates is important for effectiveness. CLICK HERE
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Don't waste your time engaging with trolls or bots by identifying them before you go down that rabbit hole with this helpful guide. CLICK HERE
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Avoid taking the bait, the click-bait that is, with these lessons on how to spot a fake news article. CLICK HERE
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Be the verification expert in your group with this article that shows you how easy it is to conduct a reverse image search to help identify false claims and fake news articles you come across on social media. CLICK HERE
The How-To's of Grassroots Activism
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Pursuing policy reform and justice is critical. CLICK HERE
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This comprehensive look into grassroots activism neatly defines each element of grassroots activism and uses a case study to demonstrate each element. CLICK HERE
COVID-19 Responsible Organization Practices
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The Do's and Don't of Getting Out The Vote during a pandemic. CLICK HERE
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Everything you need to communicate to your community members about voting safely and responsibly this November. CLICK HERE
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This must-listen-to podcast discusses extremely helpful tips for Getting Out The Vote in a pandemic. CLICK HERE
Spark The Vote is not a medical organization and should not be substituted for medical advice. Please follow instructions given by the CDC, WHO, and your local Department of Health on how to stay safe and operate during the COVID-19 outbreak.