Take Action! Questions for U.S. Presidential Candidates

January 31, 2020—The 2020 presidential caucuses and primaries are upon us, and SAA’s Committee on Public Policy has prepared a list of questions—based on SAA’s Public Policy Agenda—that we’ve posed to all the U.S. presidential candidates. No responses to share yet, but we’re hoping that the campaigns will consider archives and records issues and also learn more about our important issues from our questions.

See the Archives-Related Questions for 2020 U.S. Presidential Candidates.

You can help advocate for archives, archivists, and archival issues throughout this election year!  As you attend caucuses and campaign events, ask campaign staffers and the candidates themselves where they stand on issues of importance to archivists--issues like:

• Management of federal records
• Open government data
• Records classification
• Freedom of information
• Federal funding for archival programs (NARA, NHPRC, NEH, and others)
• Intellectual property law and regulations
• Network neutrality

Use the questions that we’ve prepared as a starting point in your conversations.

As you prepare for your attendance at a caucus or other campaign event, refer to SAA’s Archives, Public Policy & You:  Advocacy Guide, which includes tips on making contact and ensuring that the candidate understands the importance of archives and records issues.

For more guidance on preparing for an interaction and messaging, view our free on-demand webcast, Archival Advocacy at Home.

And for an in-depth understanding of archival advocacy, see SAA’s new book, Advocacy and Awareness for Archivists, by Kathleen D. Roe.

Now—go out and take action on behalf of archives and archivists!