Children's Defense Fund Action
Voting rights are children's rights
Children can't vote. Every law that shapes their lives is written by people who can.
Why this campaign
A child's future is decided in rooms they can't enter
Every year, decisions about classrooms, clinics, school meals and family income are made by people children had no say in choosing. That gap is the whole argument. Protecting the vote — and using it — is how adults stand in for the constituents who aren't allowed one.
This hub exists to make that concrete. Pick the group that describes you, take the materials, and do the one thing in front of you.
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Everything here is nonpartisan
No candidates, no parties. These materials are built so a congregation, a classroom or a nonprofit can use them without risking its status.
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Built for one volunteer
Each guide assumes you have a couple of hours and no budget, not a staffed field program.
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Reprint it freely
Photocopy, translate, put your congregation's name on it. That's what it's for.
Take action
Register, check and cast your ballot
Every task between deciding to vote and having your ballot counted, in one place. Check your registration in under a minute, fix it if something's wrong, and set a reminder so a deadline never decides this for you.
- Works in every state
- Nonpartisan — no candidates, no parties
- Nothing on this site is required first
Register to vote
Start or update your registration in your state. Most people finish in about two minutes.
Open 02Verify your registration
Confirm you're still on the rolls and that your address is current. Worth doing even if you voted last time — records get purged.
Open 03Request an absentee ballot
Vote from home if getting to a polling place on a workday with children in tow isn't realistic.
Open 04Get election reminders
Deadline and Election Day reminders for your state, so the date arrives with warning instead of as news.
Open 05Check your ballot
See the races and measures you'll actually be voting on, including the school board and local seats that shape children's daily lives.
OpenHosted by Children's Defense Fund Action and powered by Vote.org. Opens in a new tab. Nonpartisan — no candidate or party is endorsed.
Choose your lane
Two audiences. Two sets of instructions.
A faith leader planning a service and a caregiver planning a Tuesday morning need entirely different things. Each page carries its own guides and its own way to sign up.
For everyone
Read Aloud for Democracy
One guide works for every audience: a read-aloud event that gives children their first taste of civic life. Host it in a sanctuary, a classroom, a library or a living room.
Request the manual
Get the 2026 Children's Sabbaths® manual
Clergy and faith leaders can request the planning manual for the 2026 National Observance of Children's Sabbaths® — worship resources, sermon starters, litanies and an organizing timeline for building a weekend observance around children and the ballot.
Clergy & faith leaders2026 National Observance of Children's Sabbaths®
- Worship and preaching resources across traditions
- A planning timeline you can hand to a committee
- Nonpartisan advocacy actions for your congregation
Sign-up is hosted on Microsoft Forms and opens in a new tab. The manual is sent to the email address you provide.