1. Creating a Voter Engagement Plan and Timeline for Your Nonprofit
Plan Ahead 2017:
Creating a Voter Engagement Plan and Timeline for Your Nonprofit
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Presented by

2. Find out more about our mission and partners on our site at
About Nonprofit VOTE
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 training, materials and other resources for nonprofits doing nonpartisan voter engagement work.
Find out more about our mission and partners on our site at
About Us

3. Director of Research & Training
Today’s presenters
Helena Berbano
Special Projects and
Field Manager
Nonprofit VOTE
Julian Johannesen
Director of Research & Training
Nonprofit VOTE
Need LH’s new photo
Presenters

4. What We will cover today
Today’s webinar focuses on planning your nonprofit’s voter engagement activities in 2017
On Feb. 23rd, we will hold “Plan Ahead 2017, Part II: Nonpartisan Voter Engagement Tactics.” RSVP at bit.ly/Feb23rdWebinar
In March or April, we will hold a webinar focused entirely on how to remain nonpartisan while doing your voter engagement work. Stay tuned.
Agenda

5. Why VOTING matters Our voices are not being heard
Voter engagement and advocacy work go together
Nonprofits have unique access and assets
When we do this work, we are extremely effective! JJ
Bullet one is all about the “Who Votes Now” stuff.
Bullet two is on the mutually beneficial relationship between voter engagement and advocacy work – this is RESEARCH BASED, what the people we work with tell us is that
Bullet three is on the our size and reach and our special relationships with our clients, consumers, patients, etc.
Bullet four is all about our study
Why This
Matters

6. What’s at stake
Local elections are being held across the country this year. Hundreds of cities and towns will choose mayors, city councilors, county commissioners, etc.
Many states and municipalities will decide ballot measures on everything from whether to raise the minimum wage to whether to fund a new middle school with a municipal bond. JJ
Include examples of big elections this year.
At Stake

7. Opportunity
The voters you mobilize will have an outsized impact on the outcome of elections this year
Voting is habit forming. Voter who voted in 2016, who can be persuaded to vote in 2017, will be that much more likely to vote in and beyond.
Turnout in local elections is extremely low – in some case dipping into the single digits.
This is unfortunate, but it means that every voter you help mobilize will have an outsized impact on the outcome of races and ballot measures.
Retaining 2016 voters in and encouraging new voters just joining the voter rolls will encourage voting well into the future.
Opportunity

8. Opportunity
Boston Example: in 2015, turnout in Boston was just 14% of the voting eligible population.
BOSTON
At Stake

9. Making a Plan HB

10. HB

11. HB

12. Do you have buy in? Buy in from leadership increases odds of success
Buy in from leaders and buy in from staff
What does buy in look like?
How do you get it? HB
See slide notes in Word doc
Buy In

13. Who will do the work?
Who’s going to lead your efforts? Who’s going to take on this responsibility?
Do you have close allies or sympathizers on staff who you can recruit?
Get staff and volunteers excited about the work HB
Make the case for the work
Draw up a plan and timeline
Adapt tactics for your nonprofit
Educate themselves about voting & elections
Recruit & train staff & volunteers
Reach out to partners
Leaders

14. How do you interact with clients?
What are your organization’s points of contact with clients, consumers, constituents, and community members? HB
Client Interaction

15. What tactics are a good fit?
Broad categories of voter engagement:
Voter registration & pledge to vote
Voter education on the process of voting
Voter education on candidates and issues
Voter mobilization & Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV)
Ballot measure advocacy
Work with candidates HB
Extra Notes:
Give examples of types of activities and times/locations:
At your agency: In your lobby, in classes, at BENEFITS SIGN UP – make note on this one not being only tactic
ACCESS, an Arab American serving nonprofit in Deerborn MI does quite a bit of voter reg in their jobs training program and classes – they make announcements and then follow up with individuals one on one throughout the course of the training sessions and curriculum
In your neighborhood: A highly trafficked location like a bus station or a local super market. Many of our participating health centers last year found success incorporating voter engagement asks into their new patient outreach and education efforts at local schools, supermarkets, and shopping centers.
Tactics

16. What are your goals? What’s a realistic goal? What should you measure?
Establish some intermediate goals! HB
Extra Notes:
The number of staff and volunteers involved in your effort
The number of trainings there were held and any new skills and knowledge gained by staff
The number of constituents whom you assisted to register and vote
The numbers of voters registered or pledged
Give examples of types of activities and times/locations:
At your agency: In your lobby, in classes, at BENEFITS SIGN UP – make note on this one not being only tactic
ACCESS, an Arab American serving nonprofit in Deerborn MI does quite a bit of voter reg in their jobs training program and classes – they make announcements and then follow up with individuals one on one throughout the course of the training sessions and curriculum
In your neighborhood: A highly trafficked location like a bus station or a local super market. Many of our participating health centers last year found success incorporating voter engagement asks into their new patient outreach and education efforts at local schools, supermarkets, and shopping centers.
Goals

17. Do you know your stuff?
Learn about voting and elections in your jurisdiction
Be ready to refer clients elsewhere
Meet with and establish a relationship with your local elections officials JJ
Examples of things you need to find out:
When is the election?!
When is the registration deadline?
When does early voting begin and end?
Are there any requirements for those planning voter registration activities?
When do completed voter registration forms need to be returned?
Do folks have to show some sort of ID when they vote?
Learning about Voting

18. Are you ready to train up staff?
Create a curriculum and gather materials and resources
Find out if partners can help with training
Hold your initial training
Plan for re-training and refreshers
Be a model for how to do the work right JJ
Extra Notes:
When and where will your first training take place?
Help them make connections to the org’s mission and why this work is important (let’s face it, sometimes this work can be difficult and we need to keep our batteries charged).
STORY - Montana health center in 2012 set up a Facebook page for the staff engaged in voter registration efforts to share tips and funny stories, this helped them stay connected and positive
Training

19. Who are your Partners & allies?
What activities are a good fit for collaboration with partners and allies?
How do you find partners and allies?
Extra Notes:
Good activities to do with partners?
Co-sponsor a forum
Join a phone bank effort
Join a community canvass effort
Find a partner who can train your staff on voting and elections
Join a coalition working to pass a ballot measure
Partner with other groups to offer rides to the polls
Partner with other groups to do nonpartisan sign holding on Election Day
Partner with the local LWV to create and distribute a candidate guide
Partners

20. Do you have a plan for data
How will you enter data into a database?
Who will be responsible for data entry?
How frequently do you plan to enter data?
Do you have system for capturing voter registration information before returning forms to the elections office. JJ
Extra Notes:
If you plan to use the voter contact information that you’re collecting to contact voters before the election.
HIPAA and our lawyer’s letter. We have a letter from an attorney. We have the factsheet.
Partners

21. Planning on a Timeline Voter Registration
Alter the graphic to show Good in June as well

22. When does voter registration end?
Walking through some key dates. 30 days out is the first set of reg deadlines. Several states use 28 or 29 days. Different states handle these deadlines differently. Some will extend to a Monday if the day falls on a weekend. Check with your local elections office.
Don’t forget about EDR
Promote website
Reg
Deadline

23. National Voter Registration Day
The 4th Tuesday in September is National Voter Registration Day! Every year!
Talk about the fact that it’s endorsed by NASS
Talk about massive success in 2012, ‘13 and ’14 (stats for ’14)
300k people registered in 2012, 50k in 2013
In 2014, 155k voters registered. 2,263 partners.
A COUPLE SUGGESTED STRATEGIES
REGISTERING STAFF
FINDING A PARTNER TO FOCUS ON THAT DAY
NVRD
NVRD! 23

24. When should you GOTV? October and November
Focus on the few days before the election
When does absentee voting begin?
When does early voting begin?

25. info@nonprofitvote.org 617.357.VOTE (8683) www.nonprofitvote.org
2464 Massachusetts Ave
Suite 210
Cambridge, MA 02140 JJ
Helena Berbano
Julian Johannesen 25