With Election Day just around the corner, Community Housing Partners (CHP) is highlighting its 2026 CHP Votes campaign, a nonpartisan initiative that helps residents and employees learn about the voting process and participate in their communities.
First launched in 2020, CHP Votes aims to make voter education and registration resources more accessible to residents and staff while emphasizing the importance of having a voice in decisions that affect their communities. According to Stacy Taylor, Resident Services Program Developer and the lead coordinator for CHP Votes, elections help determine who makes decisions about issues ranging from housing affordability and education to transportation and other aspects of everyday life.
This year, a major focus of the campaign has been reaching residents who are eligible to vote for the first time. With support from a grant through Our Homes, Our Votes, CHP organized a postcard-writing initiative that brought employees together to encourage newly eligible voters living in CHP communities to register and make their voices heard.
Staff members mail postcards to first-time voters at CHP rental communities.
In September, employee volunteers hand-addressed and mailed postcards to 311 residents across CHP’s communities. Each postcard included a QR code linking to TurboVote, an online resource where recipients could register to vote, check or update their registration, and sign up for election reminders.
The effort brought together employees from multiple CHP offices and teams, from Hopewell to Christiansburg. “I believe everyone should be able to use their voice,” wrote Sydney Sanders, Program Support Specialist with Energy Solutions, who volunteered for the program. She and her colleague Taylor Whittington, Client Services Lead with Energy Solutions, both noted that they wanted to do their part to help people register to vote.
Beyond the postcard campaign, CHP has incorporated voter education into several resident engagement activities. In October, self-service voter registration tables featuring CHP Votes materials and TurboVote information were made available in common areas at several communities, including Yorktown Square and Rivermeade Apartments in Yorktown, Virginia; Primrose Place in Baltimore, Maryland; Lindsay Hill Apartments in Lorton, Virginia; and The Warwick Apartments in Newport News, Virginia.
CHP also hosted a voter-focused Coffee and Conversation gathering at Linden Green in Christiansburg, Virginia, where residents could learn more about the voting process using guides and resources provided by the League of Women Voters. At Parkview Gardens in Farmville, Virginia, a voter education discussion group offered another opportunity for residents to learn about civic participation and access registration information.
Voter education is also part of CHP’s Operation New Move In (ONMI), which helps new residents transition into their communities. Through this program, residents receive information about CHP Votes and a flyer with the TurboVote QR code as part of the move-in process. Approximately 300 residents are enrolled in ONMI across CHP’s portfolio at any given time. (Read more about Operation New Move In.)
CHP employees from several departments volunteered to write postcards encouraging residents to vote in the 2026 election.
“Actively increasing voter engagement within marginalized communities is a critical step toward social justice, ensuring that public policy addresses systemic inequalities rather than neglecting those who lack a political voice,” said Sara Hoke, Director of Housing Stability for Resident Services at CHP. “Education of one’s civic duties and encouraging residents to vote is a vital part of Operation New Move In because it allows the voices in a community to be heard, it builds a positive and lifelong habit within our households, and it is essential for a healthy democracy.”
As Election Day approaches on Tuesday, Nov. 3, CHP encourages residents and employees to take a moment to check their voter registration status, learn what is on their ballot, and make a plan to vote. More information and resources are available through TurboVote or on the CHP Votes website.
Founded in 1975, Community Housing Partners (CHP) provides quality-built, responsibly managed, service-enriched homes for low-income individuals and families across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Through its mission to create homes and communities that are healthy, sustainable, and affordable, CHP has been a leading advocate of affordable housing development for 50 years. CHP’s activities include real estate development, construction, energy services and training, asset management, property management, realty and homeownership, and comprehensive resident services.