Leadership & professional development: #LeadTheVote: Practical steps to encourage physicians to vote

I've heard you raise your voices, and I know how powerful they are.—Taylor Swift Civic engagement, especially voting in elections, is a powerful way for physicians to affect the political landscape in the United States.1, 2 Prior studies show that physician voter turnout was less than the general population.2 Structural, psychological, social, and environmental factors can make it challenging for physicians to successfully cast their votes.1, 2 But there is hope; a recent study shows improving trends with increases in physician voter turnout in the United States in the 2018 mid-term and 2020 presidential elections.1 Leaders must support and encourage physician voting behavior with a multi-faceted approach to tackle the various barriers. Using QR codes to guide potential unregistered voters to state-specific information. Vote.gov searches state-specific requirements. Keep in mind that some states offer online registration and some only allow mail-in or in-person registration. Making a plan early can mitigate these barriers. Providing a “Confirm your Registration” or “Register to Vote” table at staff meetings, including new hire orientation. Include links in team meeting slides and minutes for the fall. Knowing and advertising the voter registration deadline for the next election. Make sure you know your state-specific deadlines, which are highly variable. Asking early and often about voter registration. Remind colleagues and learners to check their registration status. Make it a goal for your early fall hospital medicine teams to verify registration during a week of service. This is especially important for those new faculty, residents, and students who recently moved for their new roles. In presidential election years, people can vote in their old state if they did not have time to register in their new state. Make a voting plan. Encourage physicians and learners to determine when, where, and how they will vote. Keep in mind transportation and caregiving needs. Make this plan BEFORE election day. Many early voting options stop before election day itself. If on service or a busy rotation, use mail-in voting options or, if available, vote early with in-person voting dates. Protect time on election day for those who haven't used or don't have early voting options. Attendings can cover residents or advanced practice providers who need to vote. Medical students should be given time to vote. Backup systems can provide coverage for those on service to vote on election day. Make a division-wide schedule for voting! Remind physicians about state-specific voter ID laws. Help others identify where to vote. Early in-person voting typically provides additional polling places; you can direct physician voters to those closest to the hospital. Provide links to the sample ballot for your area. Listening to an individual's barriers to voting. Engaging local voting champions. Reminding everyone that their vote counts. Encouraging voting without partisanship. Leaders can and should encourage physician voting. This leadership toolkit provides a multi-pronged approach to tackle typical barriers to physician engagement in the voting process. The authors declare no conflict of interest.