Get Out The Vote
We discussed the importance of having a conversation with voters throughout the campaign that engages them in the political process. This conversation takes place through many mediums, with precinct-based direct voter contact being the most effective tool for communicating a message that is direct and personal. In the final days of the campaign, however, the focused conversation with undecided voters essentially ends, and the central focus of the campaign turns to mobilizing and turning out its base.
In the last several weeks of the campaign, there is an intense focus on persuading the undecided voters (see Step 4: Voter Persuasion). Yet in the final seventy-two to ninety-six hours, the campaign shifts focus back to the base and begins the task of getting the supporters you have identified and persuaded to the polls.
GOTV is a huge task that should be managed by a single, centralized coordinator in the campaign. But that doesn't mean the Precinct Captains and other leaders can't take crucial roles in turning out the vote. This is an intense, fast-paced time, and the campaign needs to approach it with a sense of fun and excitement. A successful GOTV effort has a lot of energy; it is inclusive (even your least active volunteers get involved at this point of the campaign); and it is personal - it connect directly with people where they live and work.
Who is the audience for GOTV?
There are two main targets for a GOTV program: habitual voters and sporadic voters. Since habitual voters are the ones most likely to vote, they need fewer contacts from your GOTV effort. Sporadic voters need to be contacted more often - five to nine times in the final weekend.
Who are these voters and how to do you find them?
- Campaign supporters and volunteers. Donors, people who signed up at events or on the web, and supporters who were not in the voter ID universe should be added.
- Members of constituency groups or organizations that support the campaign
- Voter identification results. ID results are the best source of information for individuals and groups to target. Focus on contacting the ones and twos.
- High-performance precincts. Precincts with a high percentage of progressive voters should be emphasized in GOTV efforts. Special attention should be paid to those precincts that do not have high voter turnout. This is where you are likely to pick up voters who do not always go to the polls.
Once the entire GOTV universe has been created, the next step is prioritizing the audiences, which is done by looking at a voter's likelihood to vote. The GOTV coordinator will determine priorities, and then provide information to Precinct Captains on which voters to contact.
The GOTV Plan
Once the campaign has determined its targeted audience, the GOTV effort kicks into gear. The GOTV plan should be broken down into two components: four to five days before the election, and Election Day itself. Activities on the weekend and the Monday before Election Day should concentrate on reminding people to vote. On Election Day the campaign should concentrate on physically getting voters to the polls. The following components will make up the campaign's GOTV plan. While all your GOTV efforts will be centralized, Precinct Captains and other precinct level leaders will need to play a key role and should be plugged in to these activities.
- Canvassing. The general rule in campaigns is that the more personal the contact, the better. Door-to-door canvassing is the most effective way of reminding people to vote, especially on Election Day.
- Phoning. The most common way to get people to the polls is by calling them on the phone. The benefit of volunteer phoning is that it is free and that volunteers enjoy making these calls. On Election Day, phoning starts early in the morning and ends just before the polls close at night. Here is a sample Election Day phone script: "I'm calling from the Miller for State House campaign. The race is very close and every vote will count, so please, remember to vote today. Polls are open fro 7:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M., and your polling place is St. Martin's Church on Main Street. Do you know where that is? Do you need a ride to the polling place? Thank you so much for your time and once again: please don't forget to vote today."
- Literature drops. While the majority of resources should be channeled to direct contact with voters, some campaigns will drop literature (or put it on cars) the night before the election, after phoning and door-knocking are done, so that people receive an early morning reminder to vote.
- Targeted mail. This plays an important role in the overall GOTV effort, by reminding your audience to vote and giving them information on the polling locations and hours.
- Transportation to the polls. The campaign should have someone who is specifically in charge of arranging transportation for people needing rides to their polling place.
- Legal strategy. In areas with many new Americans voting, or in places where voter suppression has been used by the other side, it is important to have a legal team on call to deal with questions about voter eligibility.
Sample GOTV Election Day Program
12:00 Midnight
- Midnight madness lit drops in high progressive performance areas
- Door hangers reminding people to vote
4:30am - Wake up the staff!
6:00am
- Election Protection teams, poll watchers and challengers at the polls
- Visibility: hit the streets, smile and be enthusiastic
- E-mail blast to supporters
- Targeted radio ads
- GOTV workers begin riding city buses, visiting popular restaurants, and having a presence in other high traffic areas. Urge people to vote.
7:00am - 9:00am
- Prime voting time
- Visibility at key polling places
- Move canvass volunteers to staging areas and get ready to move out
- Begin rides to polls (those that were set up in advance) 9:00am - 10:00am
- Receive first turnout counts and voting lists from key polling locations
- Canvassers hit the streets for first round of door knocking
- GOTV phone calls begin and continue until polls close
12:00 noon
- Feed canvassers and other volunteers
- Second report from polls detailing counts and list of voters
- Adjust canvas and calling based on turnout numbers reported
- Continue phone calls
- Visibility for lunch crowd
3:00pm - 7:00pm
- Third turnout report from polls detailing counts and lists of voters
- Second canvas sweep of low turnout precincts
- Prime voting time begins about 5:00 pm
- Visibility for evening rush hour
- Calling into low turnout precincts
7:00pm - 8:00 pm
- All hands on phones
- Calling until polls close
- Last sweep for individuals who have not voted
- Polls close; station people at polls to keep them in line
- Victory party!