Election Day is rapidly approaching. Turnout is going to decide who wins and who loses.
This year, Democrats face one of the most difficult midterm election climates. In the United States Senate, there are 21 Democratic seats up for re-election – many of which are vulnerable. In the House, a total of forty-one Representatives are retiring from their seats, including 16 Democrats and 25 Republicans.
On average, midterm elections are always a challenge and years during a presidential election normally bring more people to the polls. However, the 2014 election presents a particularly difficult challenge for races at all levels.
Why is this year different? Well, voters aren’t voting.
Voter turnout in several primaries this year has dropped with many states reaching historic lows. Iowa, Nevada, and Maine had the lowest turnout rates.
There are various reasons why people aren’t turning out to vote, but the fact of the matter is that to win and be effective in 2014 a campaign will have to have a strong GOTV and voter engagement strategy.
It’s also important to keep in mind that having a strong GOTV strategy doesn’t mean spending more money and trying to outspend your opponent. There is no correlation between how much money was spent in a race and voter turnout. Having a strong GOTV strategy involves developing an effective plan to reach the electorate and get voters to the polls on Election Day.
The campaigns that are the most successful reaching voters are going to be the campaigns that win.
This is where phones come in. A thorough GOTV program takes into account the various ways to educate voters and persuade them to vote. Phones utilize social pressure, persuasion, and proven psychological methods to influence voters.
These are some of our GOTV Phone Programs that continue to be successful:
Plan-Making GOTV Calls – Plan-Making GOTV Calls push voters to start thinking about voting in advance and encourages them to make an Election Day voting plan.
GOTV Catch and Release – For a Catch and Release program, we send out a call to the GOTV universe asking them to record why they think it’s important to vote. Just before Election Day, we call those same voters back and play their recorded message.
GOTV Telephone Town Halls – Telephone Town Halls meet people where they are. They’re an excellent way to educate voters on why they should support a candidate and the importance of getting out to the polls on Election Day.
Adopt-A-Voter – The Adopt-A-Voter programs are a way to influence undecided or unlikely voters. Instead of calling the unlikely voter and trying to convince them of the virtues of voting, these calls target the better voter in a household and ask them to make a commitment to get the unlikely voter to the polls.
Phones have proven to be effective in motivating voters close to Election Day and will make the difference in 2014!