Health on the Ballot: School of Public Health Doctoral Students Create Nonpartisan Voting Guide

Two guides created by University of Maryland doctoral students can help voters heading to the polls on Nov. 5 understand how key public health topics play into a contentious election.

The 2024 Presidential Policy Voting Guide and 2024 Election Ballot Initiatives Voting Guide developed by students in a family and health policy impact seminar in the School of Public Health (SPH) delves into issues including reproductive health access, gun control and gun violence, child care and education.

They identified public health topics from Ballotpedia, a nonprofit resource for nonpartisan election and policy information at federal and state levels, then examined primary sources and peer-reviewed literature to find multiple perspectives on each issue and present them clearly without bias.

“There are lots of voting guides out there, but these students have tried to create a well-researched, nonpartisan resource that focuses on the election issues that will impact families,” said Christine Schull, principal lecturer in SPH’s family science program. “Public health issues are very important in this election, specifically in ballot initiatives. Many public health issues, such as reproductive health, LGBTQ+ rights and addiction have now moved to state-level ballots.”

The class develops a public health voting guide every second year, but this year’s accessible design, created by public health science undergraduate and designer Aditi Gubba, aims to grab the attention of the broadest possible audience in language that helps clarify positions.

“Sometimes it can be a little fuzzy on what the candidate is proposing specifically,” said family science doctoral student Naomi Whitaker. “This guide highlights the facts to look at when you are approached with different policies.”