GOTV Best Practices
- GOTV Best Practices
- "Getting Out the Vote on the Cheap" By Karen Tamley
- Your Polling Place Rights
- Voter Registration Best Practices
- Register to Vote
- Vote at Home
Your GOTV tactics are the direct contact you make with your members to specifically encourage voter turnout on Election Day. When members receive from your organization a series of organized contacts that talk about voting, their likelihood of voting increases substantially. Here are the best practices used by the disability community and other constituencies that have proven to be the most effective in activating voters.
- Timing
All GOTV contacts should begin NO SOONER than three weeks before Election Day. The frequency of contacts should increase as the election draws closer. If your organization is only able to place one phone call to your members, for instance, this call should happen as close to the election as possible.
- Frequency
You should plan to make at least 3-5 contacts with your members that talk specifically about voting. These contacts are most effective if they are a combination of direct mail and phone banks. The more contacts you are able to make, the greater the likelihood that a person will vote.
- Message
Your GOTV message should be short—no more than 1 or 2 sentences. Additionally, this message should make the connection between a disability issue and voting. Example: “If you care about protecting your rights under the ADA, Vote on November 2.”
- Targeting
All registered voters should be contacted at least once prior to Election Day. People who have been identified as “Infrequent Voters” (see glossary) should receive at least two additional contacts, plus a confirmation call the day before or the day of the election.
- Tactics
The single most effective tactic for increasing voter turnout is a phone call. If your organization does nothing else for GOTV, you should plan a phone bank. If you employ every tactic except a phone bank, the bestincrease in turnout you can expect is 5%. It is three times more likely that a person will vote if they receive a phone call, and a person is five times more likely to vote if a phone call follows a mailing.
To begin developing your GOTV plan, first identify all the ways your organization already comes into contact with your members. Incorporate your GOTV message into these existing structures. Examples can include:
- Newsletters
- Phone Contact (incoming and outgoing)
- Websites
- Meetings and Classes
- Fax Cover Sheets
- Workshops and Trainings
- Events/Rallies
- Additional Mailings
- Face-to-Face
- Walk-Ins
On top of these structures, you can build your 3-5 contacts using phone and direct mail.
- Expenses
Outside of List Enhancement, you will probably spend most of the money for your GOTV effort on your direct mail campaign. The most time-consuming part of the effort will be volunteer recruitment for and the implementation of your volunteer phone banks.
