In 2018 local voters will face major decisions at Town Meeting and in a series of elections through the year. To help Hingham citizens anticipate key dates and find the information they need, the League of Women Voters Hingham has created the “Well Informed Voter” calendar. The calendar, a 4-page PDF available for download at the LWV Hingham website, is a month-by-month guide to events and resources to help inform decisions at the local, state and national level all year.

The calendar builds on a history of voter education initiatives by the LWV Hingham.

• For decades, the local league has organized the annual Warrant Review – educating voters on issues before Hingham’s open Town Meeting; and Candidates’ Night – a moderated introduction to those vying for elected Town positions.

• In 2016, the LWV Hingham broadened its educational outreach with the “Well Informed Voter” column series in the Hingham Journal. The 11-part series helped local voters surmount confusion that year in two state legislative contests—confusion caused by post-ballot candidate changes--and created better understanding of four important referendum questions, and more, on the November ballot.

Why a calendar?

“In my professional life and as a parent, I’d always found it essential to plan ahead. But I was not as well organized when it came to my responsibilities as a citizen,” says LWV member Eileen McIntyre, who created the 2016 column series and initiated the new calendar project.  “The ‘Well Informed Voter’ calendar can be a handy planning tool. In addition to helping voters prepare for decisions, the calendar also points to opportunities for citizens to become involved in local government.”

To assemble information for the calendar, McIntyre took advantage of material available on the MA Secretary of State website, the Town Clerk’s page on the Town of Hingham website, and information from the LWV Hingham website. She also sat down with Town Clerk Eileen McCracken and vetted content with members of the LWV Hingham Steering Committee.

In addition to the PDF, the online version of the “Well Informed Voter” calendar offers embedded links to helpful resources. Both are available at this new website address for the LWV-Hingham: my.lwv.org/massachusetts/hingham.