Voting provides an opportunity for citizens of a democracy to exercise their power to effect social change, but for a variety of reasons the populations typically served by social work do not vote at the same rates as more privileged groups. The strategy described here, the Power of Three, is an ethical, effective, and sustainable method for engaging undergraduate students early in their BSW careers in voter outreach. The case study described assigned BSW students the task of engaging members of the community in voting and registering a minimum of three people to vote. Findings indicate that this strategy was effective in increasing students' involvement in various voter engagement activities and increasing students' understanding of the importance of voting to social work practice.

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Social workers have an ethical responsibility to be engaged in policy change, regardless of their practice area or specialization. Voter engagement and the importance of political power through voting is often overlooked in the literature as a valid and important component of social work practice. Creating a culture of nonpartisan voter engagement in practice settings can help empower individuals who have been historically and intentionally disenfranchised from our electoral system. Training for field instructors, faculty, and field staff is a key aspect of voter engagement in social work education. Unfortunately, social work education is unlikely to include substantive content on voter engagement or its connection to social work practice and impact. This article presents one component of a model for integrating voter engagement into social work education: the provision of training for field instructors on nonpartisan voter engagement at two universities over two years. Evaluation findings suggest that pre-existing levels of political efficacy affect the reaction of field instructors to nonpartisan voter engagement training. Furthermore, findings indicate that field instructors who receive voter engagement training are more likely to serve as resources for their students and to consider voter engagement as part of their own practice. We offer evidence on the important role field educators can play in the success of the larger national effort to integrate voter engagement in social work education. Increasing awareness of what social workers, nonprofit, and public agencies are allowed--or even required--to do is a critical first step.

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