Election Activities and Other Advocacy

The following questions may help you make decisions about how you choose to exercise your right to free speech within a public 大学 context.

• Can I use my work email account to send out emails in support of a candidate or issue?

  • Employees are generally precluded by law from using 国家资源 to advocate on behalf of candidates or on issues like the budget, for example. “国家 resources” is broadly defined and includes in-kind resources, such as work email, office printers and other equipment, office supplies, 大学 facilities, and employee 工作时间. In short, whatever advocacy you engage in must occur outside of work and with your own 个人 equipment and devices.

• Can I reach out to my elected representatives in Congress or the State Assembly and 督促他们采取行动?

  • 菠菜网lol正规平台 employees are free to engage their elected representatives outside of 工作时间 and with use of their 个人 resources. If an employee identifies as an 菠菜网lol正规平台 employee during that particular engagement, they must stress that their engagement is not on 代表大学. Before highlighting your employment at 菠菜网lol正规平台, it’s important to think about how the elected representative’s office might view the call (e.g. “X 从菠菜网lol正规平台 recently called to urge Rep. Y to pass legislation addressing sidewalk safety”) and try to mitigate any potential confusion. You should  state verbally and/or in written communications that you are calling as a private citizen and not on behalf of the 大学. 

• Can I use social media to advocate for an issue or candidate?

  • 菠菜网lol正规平台 community members are free to use their 个人 social media accounts outside of 工作时间 to support candidates or advocate for issues, but they must not use any official accounts for that purpose. 每当一个校园 employee’s name is accompanied by their campus title, there may be the natural assumption that the person listed represents the official position of the 大学. 如果菠菜网lol正规平台 is identified as your employer somewhere in your profile, you must be careful to note that the views expressed by you (even if it is content that you reshare from others) are your own 个人 views and not those of the 大学. 如上所述，你 may not use your work computer or other work-issued devices for such activity and you may not engage in such activity during 工作时间.

• Can I sign petitions addressing issues? 

  • Faculty and staff can sign their name to letters or other written documents that advocate for a variety of political positions, but 菠菜网lol正规平台 community members must also be careful to avoid the appearance of speaking or acting in the name of the institution. 为 example, when signing a petition, you should use your 个人 contact information rather than an 菠菜网lol正规平台 email account. Oftentimes, the mere reference of an employer may lead people to assume that you are speaking on behalf of that employer. 如果，不管怎样 reason you provide your 菠菜网lol正规平台 affiliation, you must make clear that the opinions that are expressed by the community members are not the opinions of the college or 大学.

• How might I engage in educational activities on topics that are often politicized?

  • Given all of these guidelines, you may wonder how to participate in educational activities and programming on issues that have become partisan, such as DACA, COVID-19 public health policies, climate change, and institutional racism and racial profiling. As a state employee, you are welcome to work with students on designing programs and participate in educational activities about current issues and civic engagement. 然而, state employees should reference the above guidelines when they participate, being careful not to cross the line from advocacy about specific issues to advocacy for specific political parties, political candidates, or ballot initiatives.