Teaching Note—Preparing Students to Engage Voters Through the Lens of Political Justice

Abstract

ABSTRACT The concept of political justice is deeply tied to our professional Code of Ethics. Social workers are well suited to challenge political inequalities that keep clients and communities from political participation. Laws affecting access to voter registration, casting a ballot, and having that ballot counted vary widely across the United States, making it challenging for social workers to understand how voting laws apply to client populations and therefore how to support their clients’ access. We describe an educational model implemented by one social work program that pairs encouraging voter engagement with building students’ awareness of the systemic barriers that affect whether and by what mechanisms marginalized communities can vote. This model enables students to gain knowledge about concepts of political justice early in their social work education, to see striving toward political justice as part of their ethical obligations as social workers, and to be connected with grassroots organizations that specifically work to expand political access to communities of color and other disenfranchised groups.