Voting has never been so sweet! Well, let’s be real, this provincial election has been a hot (and divisive) topic in Alberta and I’m thrilled to be collaborating fellow voting and donut-enthusiasts Mike Morrison, Emma Stevens, and Jeremy Fokkens on this initiative. Read more about the events in the press release below and visit www.democracydonuts.ca.
Alberta Spring Election to get a Little Sweeter Democracy Donuts Launches gofundme Campaign to
Bring Awareness (and Treats) to Early Voting Poll Stations
Wednesday March 13, 2019 (Calgary, AB)
Alberta’s 2019 Spring election is about to be called and with voter turnout continuing to rise, Elections Alberta announced this week that voters will be able to cast early ballots from any station in the province. A non-partisan Calgary group has organized a delicious and fun initiative to keep this momentum going and encourage Albertans to vote with their gut in advanced polls by creating Democracy Donuts. Five advanced polling stations will be selected (once dates are confirmed) as Democracy Donuts locations and voters will be offered a free donut after they have cast their ballot.
A gofundme campaign has been set up to raise money to support the initiative at gofundme.com/democracy-donuts with the goal of raising $2,500 for the initiative. Any additional funds raised will be donated to CIVIX, a national non-profit organization dedicated to engaging youth in the democratic process through initiatives like Student Vote, a parallel election for K-12 students.
“Politics in Alberta, across Canada, and around the world have become increasingly divisive. The goal of Democracy Donuts is to raise awareness on the importance of exercising our right to vote, and also bring voters together on something they can agree on – eating donuts,” explains Calgary photographer and co-organizer Jeremy Fokkens.
Democracy Donuts is being organized by Jeremy, along with fellow voting and donut-enthusiasts Jason Krell, Mike Morrison and Emma Stevens. “It started as joke on Twitter but the idea caught on and #democracydonuts became a trending hashtag; our group decided it would be a way to bring some positivity to an election that is sparking a huge divide in the province.”
Democracy Donuts is not supported by any political group, and every voter is encouraged to ‘vote with their gut’ for the candidate and party of their choice. More information is available at www.democracydonuts.ca and on Instagram
@democracydonuts and with the hashtags #votewithyourgut and #donutwasteyourvote. Locations and dates will be shared once confirmed by Elections Alberta.
For more information contact Jason Krell.
