By Pamela Mercier, Voter Service Committee Co-Chair

The Voter Service Committee finished its fall work at Keystone Community Center in November. Registering and educating potential voters at the food shelf was a worthwhile and rewarding experience for the many volunteers who joined us there. We learned much about how food shelves work and we developed a strong relationship with the staff. The work they do is a great benefit to the community. We intend to expand our work to include other food shelf organizations in 2026.

Our efforts to educate and register voters at Keystone was a success. We adapted our strategies to this context by focusing as much on education – through conversations and the distribution of materials – as on actual registrations. Most people engaged readily with us in meaningful conversations about voting. At the same time, we are thinking about developing other effective ways to share our messages with individuals who receive this vital service. We will ask the food shelf to have voting information on display more permanently. We’ve also discussed having voting information inserted into food shelf visitors’ bags.

We met with leaders at the Teen Center Program at Keystone Community Services. A teacher there is developing a unit on Civic Engagement for her students. We shared resources and ideas with her, which will likely be part of this programming in early 2026.

We also continue our work in the schools. In December, we are offering voter registration and education at Twin Cities Academy, a Saint Paul charter school. We will table at the school’s “Senior Night,” where we will invite students and families to learn more about voting and to register to vote if needed.

On Sunday, November 23, we had our bimonthly Voter Service Committee Meeting online. We reviewed our work this fall and received lively feedback from participants. We also discussed ideas for 2026 in food shelves, schools, senior communities, and other places.

The 2026 midterm elections are less than a year away. November 2026 will be as big an election time in Saint Paul as elsewhere in the nation. We will be very busy educating voters on the voting process, as well as helping to register eligible voters. Needless to say there will be many volunteer opportunities next year!

Chris and I want to heartily thank all the volunteers who rose to the challenge of educating and registering voters this fall! You do tremendous work helping to grow the voting community in Saint Paul.

Our next Voter Service Committee meeting will be in January 2026. Stay tuned for updates.