Committee of Seventy

Election & civic education engagement Seventy's election program has several tools available to help voters learn about their rights as a voter and make informed decisions when they vote. The interactive voter guide allows voters to type in their address and review all of the candidates on their ballot before they head to the polls. They can review the options, select their candidates and print or save them; they can even share with friends and family to encourage others to vote, find their polling place, or apply to vote by mail. Seventy also broadcasts facebook live interviews from studio c70. The interviews, with candidates for public office, thought leaders, and political insiders, help voters get more informed and civically engaged. All of this information can be accessed through our social media channels and website. The wevote initiative promotes a culture of voting in businesses, organizations, and communities in the region and across the commonwealth. Participants can encourage all employees, volunteers, and constituents to vote, easily share our voter resources, and offer as much flexibility as possible on election day so there are fewer obstacles for voting. Seventy also supports well-run elections by recruiting and educating poll workers in philadelphia. With a widely distributed toolkit of resources for poll workers, informational sessions, and a growing community of informed, engaged poll workers, Seventy supports democracy's essential workers. Seventy provides opportunities for citizens in philadelphia and across Pennsylvania to be civically engaged, not just around elections. Seventy's youth civics initiatives engage students as young as elementary school-age up through college. A core component of this work is the comprehensive elections & voting curriculum, which gives students an enhanced understanding of voting rights and history, media literacy, how to use voter guides, and how new and future voters can cast their own ballots. The curriculum is supported by the pa youth vote mock election; in 2023 nearly 1,500 students from districts across the commonwealth cast ballots through this program. Seventy also coordinated interviews with candidates running for election through the studio c70 candidate interview series, where classrooms connect with candidates and interviews are streamed live for the general public. In 2023, Seventy launched can we talk? To engage students in productive civil dialogue. Started as a college-level program, Seventy engaged eight high schools across pa in programming for students to learn skills for engaging with others from different life experiences and backgrounds. Seventy also started our democracy for kids program, working with youth from kindergarten through high school on the basics of community engagement. Seventy is also a founding member of the pa civics coalition, a statewide group of nonprofits, museums, and former members of congress focused on improving Pennsylvania's civic education.

State advocacy Seventy's state advocacy includes policy agenda development and lobbying around priority issues that relate to ethical, representative, and/or effective government in harrisburg. Specific issue areas of interest for state government reform include redistricting (state legislative and congressional), elections and voting, ethics and gifts, and campaign finance. Advocacy efforts include external communications (press statements, emails, social media), working with coalitions and other organizations, and direct lobbying (meeting with state officials and staff). Seventy is also the sponsor of the ballot pa initiative, which advocates for open primary elections in Pennsylvania.

Fall & spring events Seventy's fall and spring events have become important and informative annual programs for individuals with influence and an interest in politics and government at every level. Past speakers have included a us vice president, us senators, governors, historians and political commentators.

Other mission critical programs