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Plan Ahead Building a Voter Engagement Timeline for 2012

Plan Ahead Building a Voter Engagement Timeline for 2012. Presented by. Today’s presenters. Jeff Narabrook Public Policy Associate Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Minnesota Participation Project. Julian Johannesen Director of Research and Technology Nonprofit VOTE. Who.

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Plan Ahead Building a Voter Engagement Timeline for 2012

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  1. Plan AheadBuilding a Voter Engagement Timeline for 2012 Presented by

  2. Today’s presenters Jeff Narabrook Public Policy Associate Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Minnesota Participation Project Julian Johannesen Director of Research and Technology Nonprofit VOTE Who

  3. Vote November 6th! Agenda

  4. opportunity 2012 • This will be the first election after redistricting! • 50 million more people will vote in 2012 than in 2010 • 15 million people will be eligible to vote for the first time in 2012 Opportunities

  5. opportunity 2012 Why we get out the vote! • Advance our missions and our issues • Increase voting in our communities • Build clout for our organizations and the people we engage and serve • Build capacity for our organizations and communities • Get our ideas in front of candidates Opportunities

  6. agenda • Making a Plan • Voter Registration • Candidate Engagement and Ballot Measures • Voter Education and GOTV • Election Day Agenda

  7. Making a Plan

  8. getting buy-in • Executive Director: Get buy-in from your Executive Director. • Staff Lead: Choose a staff lead, someone who will be the point person for your voter engagement work. • Other Staff: Involve other staff and volunteers. Everyone needs to understand the importance of this work.

  9. Targeting Your audience • Clients and constituents • Staff and volunteers • People in your community

  10. Opportunities for engagement • What are your ongoing programs or points of contact with your audience? • What about any special programs or events? • Candidates - A local race? Ballot measures?

  11. training • Who needs to be trained to carry out your activities? • When and where will you hold trainings? • Training Resources

  12. Voter registration

  13. Principles of voter registration • Many community members are already registered to vote • Updating an address on a registration is just as important as registering for the first time • Even small numbers of registrations aggregate up to a large number on a state-wide or national level

  14. When to do Voter Registration • Year Round: As a part of intake or everyday practice. • Close to Deadline: The best time to do voter registration is in the month leading up to the registration deadline in your state. • Single Day: Single day events, like a graduation ceremony, local festival, or local sporting event are good opportunities to register voters.

  15. Know Your deadline

  16. National Voter Registration Day • September 25th is National Voter Registration Day!

  17. Where to do Voter Registration • At your agency: In your lobby, in classes, at client intake, etc. • At events: A high school graduation, a citizenship ceremony, an open house • In your neighborhood: A highly trafficked location like a bus station NOTE: Door-to-door canvassing is not effective when registering voters.

  18. Registration activities • Promote voter registration • Put up a voter registration poster in your lobby • Publicize the registration deadline in your newsletter, on your blog or your site’s homepage, or on social media like Facebook and Twitter • Conduct your own voter registration activities • Set up a table in your lobby • Make voter registration a part of client intake

  19. Candidate engagement

  20. Candidate Engagement • Candidate Forums: Sponsor or co-sponsor a candidate forum on a local race – 4 months before • Candidate Appearances: Invite candidates from a local race(s) to attend a fall event – 1-3 months before • Share Your Research: Provide candidates your research or policy ideas – After state primary Candidate Engagement

  21. Voter Education and get out the vote

  22. Voter education • What’s on the ballot: Sample ballots and voter guides • How to vote: Pass out voter tips on how to vote or get help voting Voter Education

  23. Ballot measures • Do Voter Education Only: Provide nonpartisan voter education on ballot measures • Make an Endorsement: Take a position for or against a ballot measure Ballot Measures

  24. Getting Out the vote • Create visibility: Make the election visible at your agency and in your communications • Promote Early Voting: Encourage people to vote early by mail or in person • Promote Election Day voting: Contact constituents about voting on Election Day GOTV

  25. Election day • Make it a special day • Reminders to vote in the last few days • Time off for staff Election Day

  26. Post-Election • Promote: If results were good or activities successful, let your audience know what you did to get out the vote • Evaluate: Review what you did to inform your future election work Post- Election

  27. resources • Factsheets, Guides, Toolkits and more available at www.nonprofitvote.org Resources

  28. resources Resources

  29. info@nonprofitvote.org 617.357.VOTE (8683) www.nonprofitvote.org Nonprofit VOTE 89 South Street Suite 203 Boston, MA 02111 Jeff Narabrook jnarabrook@minnesotanonprofits.org Julian Johannesen julian@nonprofitvote.org

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