Whether you’re part of a corporation or a nonprofit, chances are your employees are going to be affected by what happens in the election this November. With misinformation spreading rapidly and confusing processes on how to vote safely during a pandemic, it has become more difficult than ever to know how to properly get the vote out.
At our recent Getting Out The Vote webinar with Fair Fight and BallotReady, we discussed five steps organizations can take to make sure their stakeholders, from employees to clients to constituents, get out the vote:
1. Encourage people to make a vote plan
It can be overwhelming for voters to navigate all the information about how to vote. But it’s best to have a plan. Share links to websites about your state’s early voting dates, mail-in voting drop box locations, and polling places so that your stakeholders know exactly where to go and when. Be sure to send this information as early as possible, so they have time to make plans to vote.
Here is a list of resources to help you navigate.
2. Communicate clearly what is at stake
As more Americans realize just how important their vote is, some political operatives are making efforts to suppress the vote for certain demographics and regions. This suppression can come in the form of provisional ballots in different counties, purging voters due to signatures “not being an exact match,” requiring fines to be paid before being able to vote, asking for a witness to sign an absentee ballot, and much more. Yet this is exactly why it’s more important than ever to increase voter turnout and help eliminate voter suppression in the future.
3. Be thoughtful about your voice
Voter protection is not a partisan issue. Regardless of political affiliations, every American should have the right to vote and should be able to submit their ballot easily and quickly. Be sure to communicate this when encouraging stakeholders to get out the vote.
4. Engage with your audience consistently
Attention spans are shorter than ever before, and with the overwhelming amount of information flooding social media, it’s key that you consistently communicate and engage with your audience. Send weekly emails or newsletters to your stakeholders, informing them of what’s happening regarding voting in your area, and consistently share election dates and information to keep it all top of mind. More of your audience will appreciate this information than you might think, and will also keep you top of mind.
5. Leverage partners to amplify your voice
There are plenty of amazing nonprofits out there who can help you in your mission to inform voters and get out the vote. BallotReady makes it easy for voters to understand every candidate and referendum on their local ballot and to cast informed votes all the way down the ticket. Fair Fight is a quickly growing organization that advocates for the right to vote and aims to combat voter suppression nationally. Each of these organizations offers stakeholders easy ways to stay informed and know what signs to look out for to prevent voter suppression.
At Plural, we designed a toolkit for advocacy organizations to make it easier to innovate their stakeholder or audience engagement workflow. By following our guide and using its templates, you and your team will have a comprehensive plan for achieving your advocacy goals through growing an audience of engaged and informed stakeholders.
Download our Advocacy Toolkit today:
https://learn.civiceagle.com/toolkit
