AARP Working to Let Voters Know Where Election 2020 Candidates Stand on Issues
Solutions to prescription drug prices, Social Security and Medicare most important to our members
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En español | With the 2020 general election a year away and the first primaries and caucuses taking place in just three months, AARP is going all out to make sure our members know where the candidates stand on issues important to them.
We have a proud decades-long history of nonpartisan voter engagement. We don’t endorse candidates or contribute to their campaigns. We do, however, encourage candidates to offer solutions on the issues that matter most to AARP members. And we provide information to our members so they can choose candidates who best fit their views and values, while encouraging everyone 50-plus to vote.
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We also want you to hear directly from the candidates, unfiltered by the media or by various political organizations. To that end, we’d like you to tell us what issues you care about most and would like to have candidates address.
As the most reliable and powerful voting segment in the country, voters 50 and over have an important role to play in this critical election. They care deeply about making prescription drugs more affordable, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and building a strong future for their children and grandchildren. Over the next year, we’ll help equip our members to make informed decisions when they go to the polls to choose 435 members of the House of Representatives, 35 U.S. senators and 11 governors.
We began that mission in July, when AARP held a series of five candidate forums in Iowa featuring 17 of the 24 Democratic candidates at that time. The forums gave Iowans the opportunity to hear directly from candidates and to ask them questions.
We are encouraging AARP members to attend candidate events and town halls and to ask the candidates themselves questions about the issues. To get involved, please follow us on Twitter at @AARPadvocates and on Facebook at facebook.com/AARPadvocates.
We’ll also produce video voter guides called AARP Asks the Candidates, in which office seekers will get a chance to respond to the issues that matter to you, so you can judge for yourself which candidates best fit your views and values. We have invited President Trump to participate. The guides will be updated as the campaign progresses, and we’ll be encouraging all candidates from both parties to offer their solutions to the issues.
It is crucial that we hear from members to ensure we ask the candidates about the things that matter most to people 50 and older. We will be conducting surveys and polling to reach out and capture your ideas and opinions.
Of course, none of this matters if people don’t vote. We’re making a strong effort to let our members know how and where they can vote in their state’s primary or how to get involved in their state’s caucus. As the general election nears, we will conduct an extensive nationwide get-out-the-vote effort.
At AARP, our purpose is to empower people to have more of a say in how they live as they age. Informing, educating and encouraging our members to participate in the electoral process are ways we fulfill that purpose. By being an informed voter, you are not only helping to strengthen our democracy, you’re taking a step in creating a better future for all Americans.