Recovery Voter Hub

Determine how recovery will influence your own personal decision in the voting booth.

According to a recent poll (*source Clark County NV), 1172 registered likely voters were asked if they would consider a candidate of a different party if they had an attractive stance on recovery. A plurality of voters (42%) answered yes, 34% were unsure, and 23 % answered no.

The results of this survey tell us that many likely voters would consider recovery as an issue vote as opposed to political party or stance of candidates on other issues.

Each one of us has a choice to consider how important the issue of recovery is while making a decision in casting a ballot on Election Day. Visit the Organized Issue Voting page of this site to view the data and take the survey yourself.

Evaluate and explore where you personally stand on issues relating to recovery.

An educated voter is a powerful voter. It is up to every one of us to look at the issues that impact those struggling with addiction, people in recovery, as well as family members and allies. There are so many issues that affect us as a recovery community to consider before voting including but not limited to: 

• Access to healthcare
• Criminal Justice Reform
• Mental Health
• Medicaid Expansion
• Overdose Prevention and Awareness
• Ending the War on Drugs
• Reentry Programs
• Race Issues
• Services for Veterans
• Safe & Affordable Housing
• Homelessness
• Expungement and Rights for those with Criminal Records
• Recovery Support Services for All
• Family Support Services
• Ending Mass Incarceration
• Voting Restoration
• Insurance Discrimination
• LGBTQIA+ Community

There are many local and national non-profit groups, public policy specialists, and experts that work specifically on these issues. Many authors have also written extensively on these issues. We have provided some links to first steps if you would like to further explore where you stand on any of these issues in the Recovery Issue Education section of this site. We encourage you to dive deeper on these issues so that you are confident and informed with your vote on Election Day.

The Recovery Advocacy Project is also working to host Town Hall Meetings before elections that ask people in recovery “What does it mean to Vote Recovery?” There may be something in your state already being organized around this.  Please contact [email protected] to inquire about attending/hosting an event like this. Take a moment to visit the Vote Recovery Town Hall section of this website.

Educate yourself on where those running for office stand on those issues.

Now that you have explored what is important to you as a recovery voter, it is time to look into where those running for office stand on those issues. You can begin by researching who is running for office and who already represents you by clicking Learn about your Candidates & Elected Officials.

Are candidates running for office and your elected officials making decisions without you, the recovery voter, having your voice heard? 

Have they answered publicly on the issues you care about? Are your issues addressed on their websites?

If the answer is NO, then let’s change that.

There are many stances that elected officials could take that would be in the best interest of the recovery community as a whole. Visit the Candidate Engagement & Questionnaires section to work towards holding public officials accountable for their platforms and decisions.

VOTE.

We encourage all of you to identify as a recover voter and commit to vote while keeping the recovery issues that are most important to you in mind in each and every election. It is our hope that this website will be able to answer any questions you may have about how to vote as well as understanding your rights as a voter. 

You should be able to find everything you need in the menu under the ‘Vote’ and ‘Your rights as a Voter’ tabs.

Please take a moment to be counted as a recovery voter by taking the Vote Recovery Pledge.