Convincing voters to head to the polls on Election Day is one of the most important tasks of any political campaign. But in a political landscape where only 52.2% of American adults voted in the last election (and that was relatively high), inspiring voter turnout can be a challenge. There’s where get out the vote (GOTV) efforts come into play.
GOTV is a targeted effort to mobilize voters to cast their ballots in an election, typically organized by political campaigns, advocacy groups, or nonprofits. It involves a mix of online (digital) and in-person canvassing efforts to inform voters about an upcoming election and persuade them to cast their vote.
Whether you’re planning your campaign’s GOTV strategy or are planning how your nonprofit or advocacy organization can play a role in boosting voter turnout, use these best practices to motivate voters to make their voice heard.
1. Start planning early.
Even if most of your GOTV efforts take place closer to Election Day, you should plan your GOTV strategy at least a few months in advance. This way, you have plenty of time to develop voter lists, schedule multiple voter contact opportunities, and pivot your approach if needed.
When planning your GOTV strategy, start by determining your goal number of votes (also known as your "win number"). Use past election results in your jurisdiction to estimate voter turnout and multiply it by the number of registered voters, then calculate the number of votes needed to get a simple majority (if you’re in a two-person race). Based on your win number, decide how much time you'll need to devote to GOTV efforts and how many volunteers you’ll need to perform voter contact.
Then, start volunteer recruitment well before you launch your GOTV activities. Create an informational page about volunteering with your campaign on your website, if you don’t have one already. Design simple online signup forms, and use a combination of tactics - text messaging, email, social media, and more - to spread the word about both in-person and virtual volunteer opportunities to help with GOTV.
Don’t forget to factor in important volunteer considerations as you recruit. For example, if you have a large Spanish-speaking population in your jurisdiction, ensure that you recruit enough Spanish-speaking volunteers to connect with these voters.
2. Target the right voters for GOTV.
For your GOTV efforts to be effective, it’s crucial to prioritize outreach for the right group of voters. Typically, political campaigns divide their target voters into two main categories:
- Persuasion universe: Your persuasion universe includes voters who don’t know about your campaign, may belong to other political parties, and are generally less likely to vote for your candidate. Since these voters need to be persuaded to vote in your favor, you should target this group early on and focus on educating them about your campaign.
- Mobilization universe: This group includes voters who are already likely to vote for your candidate, such as same-party members and those with a history of supporting similar campaigns. These voters don’t necessarily need to learn any more about your campaign, they just need to make it to the polls.
The voters in your mobilization universe are your targets for GOTV. These likely supporters just need motivation to cast their votes on Election Day, which your GOTV volunteers can provide.
But how do you know which voters belong in your mobilization universe? Use political campaign tools like a voter file or voter registration database to find information about voters’ party affiliations and voting histories. Then, use this data to supplement your existing campaign data and find the voters whose habits indicate they would be likely supporters.
To get an accurate representation of voters, ensure that you only use trusted voter databases with clean data. Research available campaign tools and databases before using them to learn about their reputations and potential shortcomings.
3. Use multiple types of outreach.
Once you’ve recruited volunteers, done your voter research, and zeroed in on your GOTV targets, you can start making your field plan and creating outreach materials. Use all of the communication channels at your disposal to drive as many voters to the polls as possible. These might include:
- Phone and text banking: Ask volunteers to call and text voters to have brief conversations about voting. You can do this either by organizing a scheduled phone or text banking party (virtual or in-person), or by allowing volunteers to call and text voters on their own time at home.
- Door-to-door canvassing: Send volunteers to the homes of likely voters to talk to them in person about their voting plans. Give volunteers detailed scripts and instructions so they can provide accurate information and represent your campaign well.
- Social media: Post infographics, reminders, and compelling calls to action in the lead-up to Election Day. Use multiple social media platforms for the widest reach, including Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok.
- Direct mail: Don’t underestimate the power of postcards for sharing important voting information and reminders. Make your direct mail appeals visually compelling and use large, standout text to emphasize the importance of voting.
Along with these outreach methods, encourage your volunteers and committed voters to spread the word to their friends and families through relational organizing. Just by sharing their voting plans with peers and reminding them to create their own, these volunteer organizers can encourage plenty of additional voters to participate in the election.
4. Provide educational resources to voters.
Some of the top reasons people don’t vote include busy schedules, inaccessible facilities or processes, registration problems, and transportation issues. Getting to the right polling place on a Tuesday during the workday is difficult for many people, so anything your campaign can do to make the process easier will help you get more voters to the polls.
Provide all the information that voters need to make voting as easy as possible. Consider creating online and/or physical voter guides that include info about:
- Your candidate and the competition
- Early voting details and deadlines, if applicable in your jurisdiction
- Information about absentee voting, if applicable in your jurisdiction
- Polling locations and how to find the correct one
- Free Election Day transportation resources, if available
- Frequently asked questions about voting
- Information about accessibility accommodations
Distribute these resources both online and in person throughout your GOTV activities. Post helpful infographics on social media, share links to information on your campaign website, and help voters make it to the polls by answering any specific questions they may have during phone or text banks.
5. Don’t stop until after Election Day.
The final month and week before the election is the most critical time for GOTV efforts, so plan the bulk of your activities for that window. Plan several key dates for voter contact (phone/text banking, door knocking, etc.), and create a content calendar to schedule your online calls to action.
Add these dates to your campaign calendar so you can easily manage your GOTV activities. Additionally, note important deadlines like the end of the early voting period, and align your GOTV efforts accordingly.
Remember that voter mobilization shouldn’t stop the day before Election Day. On the day of the election, make sure your campaign stays active with digital outreach, on social media, and in-person throughout the community. Your team should be reaching out to voters right up until the minute polls close to encourage last-minute voting and answer any questions.
These GOTV best practices will help your campaign mobilize as many promising voters as possible. As long as your team stays on message, appeals to voters’ emotions, and simplifies the voting process, you’ll be in a good position to engage more voters, increase voter turnout, and ultimately win your campaign.
