Vote Remote

Indivisible Somerville’s offshoot, the Institute for Social Engagement, launched its signature initiative in time for the mid-terms last month. Called Vote Remote, the initiative pulled together a website that was a one-stop shop for voter registration and absentee ballots. You’d have thought it would be simple, but election laws and processes are actually quite varied state-by-state, county-by-county. And, crucially, Vote Remote paired the website with a program of Campus Coordinators who would provide the personal hand-holding that apparently college students need, in order to vote. The theory of change being that more college students in Greater Boston — and there a quarter million of them — could be brought into civic engagement by voting in their home states. Today, I met with a few of ISE’s leaders, getting an update on what they’ve achieved and providing some feedback on how to move forward.