Nonprofits Get Out The Vote Presented by

ABOUT US About Us Founded in 2005, Nonprofit VOTE partners with America's nonprofits to help the people they serve participate and vote. We are a leading source of nonpartisan training, materials and other resources for nonprofits doing voter engagement work. Find out more about our mission and partners on our site

ABOUT CIRCLE About CIRCLE CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) conducts research on young Americans’ voting and political participation, service, activism, media use, and other forms of civic engagement. It is based at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University.

TODAY’S PRESENTERS Who Abby Kiesa Youth Coordinator and Researcher CIRCLE Lindsey Hodel National Field Director Nonprofit VOTE

AGENDA Agenda Overview Research Based GOTV GOTV for Nonprofits

Voting is connected with a host of positive benefits for the individual voter and for communities. Voter engagement efforts build stronger nonprofits. WHY DO GOTV? Why?

When compared to frequent voters, nonvoters: Favored health care reform by a margin of 11 points. Favored increased government services by a margin of 20 points. WHO VOTES MATTERS Why?

Voter turnout among the clients and constituents that nonprofits registered or collected pledges from was 74%, six points above the 68% turnout rate for all registered voters. In fact, nonprofit voters outperformed their counterparts across all demographic groups studied. WE ARE EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE Why?

NEW RESEARCH ON GOTV New Research

CORE PRINCIPLES PERSONAL CONTACT is always better, be personable and interactive when doing GOTV Try everything before doing robo-calls! (Research shows that canvassing actually costs less per voter than robo-calls) RESEARCH ABOUT VOTING New Research

WHAT TO TALK ABOUT WHEN DOING GOTV BASIC INFORMATION about when and where to vote, especially for new voters Only focus on VOTING LOGISTICS Ask and discuss how the person PLANS to cast their ballot RESEARCH ON VOTING New Research

TAPPING INTO SOCIAL NORMS/PRESSURE –Peer-to-peer outreach –Social pressure Voting history High turnout messaging (Gerber and Rogers, 2009) HOUSEHOLDS –“Trickle Up” (Youth engagement influencing older adults in household; Kids VotingUSA, McDevitt) –“Trickle Down” (Parental activity influencing children; McIntosh et al, 2007) RESEARCH ON GOTV TACTICS New Research

GOTV FOR NONPROFITS Being Nonpartisan Talking about Voting What to Do When Early Voting The Final Push GOTV for Nonprofits

WHAT NONPROFITS CAN NOT DO: A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization may not support or oppose a candidate for public office. Being Nonpartisan Nonprofits may not: Endorse candidates Donate money or resources to candidates Rate candidates on issues

WHAT NONPROFITS CAN DO Nonprofits may conduct nonpartisan voter engagement activities to educate the public and help them participate in elections. Nonprofits may do: Voter Registration Voter Education Get Out the Vote Being Nonpartisan Candidate Engagement Ballot Measure Advocacy

Content is important. The messenger is also important. Use positive messages –Your voice, your vote –Stand up and be counted –You decide - Don’t let others decide for you. Avoid negative ones –Scale back voter suppression talk that makes voting seem confusing or hard TALKING ABOUT VOTING Talking About Voting

Assume that people plan to vote and help them to do that Ask questions based on that assumption: – Are you voting early or on Election Day? – Do you know your polling place? – What help do you need voting? “Scheduling an appointment” to vote –Research has shown that being asked to think about or visualize your plan to vote increases the chance that you will vote TALKING ABOUT VOTING Talking About Voting

Stand up: It’s important to stand up for our rights and elect leaders who will lift up our country and our communities. America’s future is our future, and we need to vote and make sure the politicians hear our voices and know we count and we matter. We can’t complain about the way things are going if we don’t take responsibility and stand up for what we believe in. Your voice matters: Your vote — along with everyone’s vote — matters. It lets politicians know that the American people have an opinion, and that they need to listen to what we have to say. We need your help. We count on your support to send a message to the politicians that what we do and the services we provide are important. MESSAGES THAT WORK Talking About Voting

PRINCIPLES OF GOTV Make It Personal: Personal contact works best! Talk It Up: Everyone’s doing it. Turnout’s expected to be high Create Urgency: There’s a lot at stake. On issues, for your nonprofit, for the community Make It Easy: Voting’s easy to do What And When

CREATE VISIBILITY The election should be visible to everyone you interact with Make announcements about the election Put up “Vote November 4” posters or signage Use your communications What And When

EARLY VOTING IN THE STATES National Conference of State Legislators

EARLY VOTING ACTIVITIES Vote by Mail/Absentee Ballots: –Help your community get and fill out absentee ballot applications. –Find and promote the deadlines dates for applying and turning it in. Early Voting In Person: –Promote where and when to vote early in person Early Voting

Nonprofit VOTE 50 State Guide: Links to official information on Absentee and Early in- person voting on your state election website EVIC’s Early Voting Calendar: Detailed early voting information for every state Long Distance Voter: The absentee ballot experts and guide to early voting Your local election board EARLY VOTING RESOURCES

THE FINAL TWO WEEKS Target your audiences and activities Remind people to vote Help people vote Create visibility and excitement Final Push

MORE IDEAS - THE FINAL TWO WEEKS Orient staff to answer basic election questions When providing services, ask people if they need help voting Hold a Get Out The Vote event (like a Trick or Vote event) Give out sample ballots, voter guides, palm cards Final Push

Provide Election Assistance: Be able to answer questions about –Where to get help voting –How to find your polling place Ask “Have you voted?” Ask everyone if they voted or need help voting Celebrate Democracy: Make Election Day special. Have a party. ELECTION DAY! Election Day

Allow staff to take part in nonpartisan get out the vote activities Or as a staff person, take personal time to work for a campaign Become a poll worker or translator TIME OFF ON ELECTION DAY

VOTER TOOLS Voting in Your State: Voting information straight from your SoS VIP Voter Information Tool: A new tool from Pew and Google. Find your polling place and more. Hotlines: Promote the toll free voter assistance hotlines OUR-VOTE Ve-Y-Vota

OUR WEBSITE

VOTE (8683) Nonprofit VOTE 89 South Street Suite 203 Boston, MA Lindsey Hodel Julian Johannesen