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
www.nonprofitvote.org
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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.
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TODAYS PRESENTERS Who Abby Kiesa Youth Coordinator and
Researcher CIRCLE Lindsey Hodel National Field Director Nonprofit
VOTE
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AGENDA Agenda Overview Research Based GOTV GOTV for
Nonprofits
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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?
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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?
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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?
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NEW RESEARCH ON GOTV New Research
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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
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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
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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
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GOTV FOR NONPROFITS Being Nonpartisan Talking about Voting What
to Do When Early Voting The Final Push GOTV for Nonprofits
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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
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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
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Content is important. The messenger is also important. Use
positive messages Your voice, your vote Stand up and be counted You
decide - Dont 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
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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
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Stand up: Its important to stand up for our rights and elect
leaders who will lift up our country and our communities. Americas
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
cant complain about the way things are going if we dont take
responsibility and stand up for what we believe in. Your voice
matters: Your vote along with everyones 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
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PRINCIPLES OF GOTV Make It Personal: Personal contact works
best! Talk It Up: Everyones doing it. Turnouts expected to be high
Create Urgency: Theres a lot at stake. On issues, for your
nonprofit, for the community Make It Easy: Votings easy to do What
And When
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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
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EARLY VOTING IN THE STATES National Conference of State
Legislators
www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/elections/absentee-and-early-voting.aspx
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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
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Nonprofit VOTE 50 State Guide: Links to official information on
Absentee and Early in- person voting on your state election website
EVICs 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
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THE FINAL TWO WEEKS Target your audiences and activities Remind
people to vote Help people vote Create visibility and excitement
Final Push
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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
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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
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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
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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. 1-866-OUR-VOTE
1-888-Ve-Y-Vota