Get Out The Vote

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www.democracyforamerica.com, and not authorized by any
candidate or candidates committee.

Election Day is whenever they vote!

Early voting
32 no-excuse early voting states
Absentee voting
28 no-excuse absentee mail states
2008: 28.8% voted early
2010: 28.6% voted early
2012: 30.7% voted early
Source: Catalist

9 states have
same day
registration
voting!

All Registered Voters

Target Universe of Voters

Supporters (1s)

Undecided (2,3, 4s)

Likely Supporters
Not IDd

Haters (5s)

Persuasion
(2,3,4s)

GOTV Universe

No More Contact

Is Your Universe Big Enough?

Yes!
Congrats!

No!
What do I do now?
- Increase voter turnout in base
precincts
- Turnout likely demographics
(your likely voters)
- Turnout voters in hostile
territory (the stealth operation)

Getting Ready
Prioritize your precincts
Secure your staging locations
Recruit and train your staff &
volunteers
GOTV Director
Extra Field Organizers
Paid Walkers or Callers
Volunteers

Know your timelines and benchmarks

Vote by mail
Early Vote
Election Day

Tactics: What Works?

Effect on Turnout
1) Direct mail
2) Literature Drops
3) Voice to Voice contact by
phone
4) Person to Person contact by
door canvassing

Highlighted Best Practices

Canvassing
- Mobilization spillover (Nickerson, 2008)
- Door hangers (Nickerson, Friedrichs, and King, 2006; Nickerson, 2005)
Scripts
- Emphasize high or low expected turnout (Gerber and Rogers, 2008)
- Emphasize national or local organization (McNulty, 2004)
- Plan making: ask logistical questions (Analyst Institute, 2008)
- Emphasize that You are a person who votes! (OCV, 2009)

Tactics: What Doesnt Work?

Dont use robo-calls for GOTV
Robo-calls have no impact, whether from celebrities, in Spanish,
from member organizations, or having political endorsements.

Dont use email for GOTV

GOTV emails do not increase turnout, regardless of whether they
are from celebrities, college administrators, or membership
organizations.

Dont use rushed, short, live GOTV calls.

Rushed live calls with no interaction have negligible impact.

Dont use traditional glossy mail for GOTV

It is not cost-effective for GOTV. Handwritten mail (e.g. pledge
cards), mail that leverages voter identity and social
accountability, and persuasion mail can increase turnout.

GOTV Early Vote & VBM Examples

Early Vote: Treat it like every day is election day
VBM (Vote by Mail): Most traditional mail doesnt work.
* Official Looking black and white looks best
* No Message just provide the service

Effective GOTV Script Tips

Remind people that voting records are public.
Talk voters through a voting plan.
Remind voters of their previous commitment to
vote.
Emphasize high expected turnout in election
and that their vote matters.
Emphasize that you are local.
Highlight voter identity.
(Also, explain to volunteers why script is important!)

Effective GOTV Script

Hi Chris, this is Kelley Im a volunteer in the
Whittier neighborhood calling from the OByrne
campaign.
Official records show that you are a voter and
we are calling voters like you to say thank you.
Thank you for being a voter! (pause)
Since you are the kind of person who votes
and cares about the community, we want to let
you know Claudia OByrne has a history of
getting things done for us as a city councilor and
wants to bring that track record to the capitol as a state
representative.
Can we count on your vote on November 4?

Local

Public Record

Identity labeling:
Voting = positive

Candidate name
and basic info

Commitment to
vote

Effective GOTV Script

Great! We are calling people in Whittier and it looks like a
lot of people will be voting this year.

High turnout,
part of the herd

It is an exciting racebut its going to be close and

your vote can make the difference.

Youve got
power

Your polling place is Hobart Elementary on Fairfax. On

Election Day, polls are open from 7 am to 7 pm. Do you
know when you might go to vote? In the morning,
afternoon, evening? (pause)

Voting plan

So do you think youll head to the polling place from your

home, work, or somewhere else? Do you know how
youll get there? Do you need a ride? Great!
Again, thank you for being a good citizen who votes,
and for your promise to vote this year. We hope to
be able to thank you again for voting on Tuesday,
November 4th.

Thank you and

accountability

Calculate Volunteer Shifts

Smith Township Needs
Vote Goal = 11,496
Early Vote = 2875
Remaining Voters = 8622
We can make:
25 GOTV phone contacts/ hour
8 GOTV door contacts/ hour
3 hours to a volunteer shift
So we will need
345 volunteer phone hours (115 vol. shifts), OR
1078 volunteer door hours (360 vol. shifts), OR
90 Phone shifts (6750 voters) + 78 Canvass shifts (1872 voters)

Vote By Mail Timeline

(Working from Election Day back)

11/2 - CHASE!!!
10/26 - 11/2 - VOLUNTEER CHASE!!!
10/22 - 10/25 - CHASE LIVE CALLS - (PAID)
10/21 - GOTV mail arrives with ballots
10/18 - Begin returning VBM requests to Election officials
10/14 - GOTV mail created and to printer
10/12 - VBM requests received - data entry daily
10/9 - 10/16 - Live chase calls for VBM requests
10/7 - Robo reminder call for VBM requests
10/5 - VBM request cards sent to targeted group

The 4 Day Ramp Up

Friday
- All data entered and universe set - no more persuasion!
- Turf cut (and printed!), canvass packets created
- Everything is ready
Saturday & Sunday
- Get some sleep
- Canvasses and Phonebanks at maximum all day
- Visibilities, door hangers, final mail reminder
- Goal of going through GOTV universe twice
Monday
- GOTV rally
- Canvasses and Phonebanks at maximum all day
- Visibilities, door hangers, final mail reminder
- Refine your universe w/ data and EV info

ELECTION DAY!

Phonebanks and Canvasses

Poll watchers
- Prioritize key precincts
- Call in turnout numbers
- Report any funny stuff at the polls

Boiler room
- Information center on Election
Day
- Reallocated resources where
needed