Field Organizing
Paid for by Democracy for America,
www.democracyforamerica.com, and not
authorized by any candidate or
candidate’s committee.
Your Blueprint for Victory
Contains your campaign’s Goals and
the Strategies, Tactics, Timelines,
and Benchmarks to achieve them
Person to person voter contact
• Delivers a campaign’s message to
targeted voters
•
Tactics: Canvass, phone calls, mail
literature drops, etc.
Builds a grassroots volunteer base
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A strong Field
Organization can help
you gain between 3-5%
on election day.
What’s Your Win Number?
Step 1: Project the turnout:
Projected
Turnout
Turnout in last
= %similar
x
election(s)
Current number of
registered voters
Step 2: Set Your Goals
Win Number = (Projected Turnout / 2) + 1
Vote Goal = Projected Turnout x .52
Step 3: Write them down!
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Targeting Your Resources
Why target?
•
•
Limited People, Money & Time
Gets the right message to the right
voters
3 Ways to Target Voters
•
•
•
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Geographically
Voter History & Identification
Constituencies
Research Suggestions
• Secretary of State
• County Elections Board
• Party Voter File
• NCEC
• US Census data
Calculate Your Vote Goals
Turnout
Turnout %
Current
Estimate
in last
Registration
for current
similar election
election
Precinct # 1
740
32%
Precinct # 2
446
55%
Precinct # 3
463
51%
Precinct # 4
599
43%
Precinct # 5
686
42%
Precinct # 6
1,002
48%
District
Totals
3,936
44%
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Win
Number
=
50% + 1
Vote
Goal
=
52%
Democratic Performance Index
‘Percentage of the vote an average Dem can
expect in an average election’
Based on voting history NOT voter registration
How to calculate D.P.I
{
Democratic % in similar election # 1
+ Democratic % in similar election # 2
+ Democratic % in similar election # 3
About NCEC
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} / 3 = D.P.I.
Dem
Performance
%
Est.
Dem.
Turnout
Vote
Difference
Persuasion
%
Precinct # 1
69%
12%
Precinct # 2
21%
8%
Precinct # 3
36%
33%
Precinct # 4
43%
19%
Precinct # 5
38%
39%
48%
21%
43%
22%
Precinct # 6
District
Totals
Swing
Voters
Final Vote
Goal
Precinct # 1
Precinct # 2
Precinct # 3
Precinct # 4
Precinct # 5
Precinct # 6
District
Totals
Persuasion
Ranking
GOTV Ranking
Field Targeting Strategies
DEM BASE PRECINCTS
- D.P.I. = greater than 65%
- Identification, voter registration, volunteer recruitment, GOTV
REPUBLICAN BASE PRECINCTS
- D.P.I. = less than 35%
- Lowest priority, highly targeted contact only
SWING PRECINCTS
- D.P.I. = between 35% and 65%
- Identification, Persuasion & GOTV
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Targeting with Voter History
Voter Contact Priorities
(ID,
B. Supporters less likely to vote
(ID, GOTV)
C. Undecideds less likely to vote
(ID, Persuasion, GOTV)
D. Supporters likely to vote
(Base building)
Voting History
A. Undecideds likely to Vote
Persuasion)
Partisanship ID
Always Vote
(4x4)
Sometimes
Vote
(2x4)
(0x0)
Never Vote
(0x4)
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Strong
Supporter
(1)
Undecided
(2, 3, 4)
D
A
Base
Persuasion
B
E
C
Persuasion
#2
E
Strong
Opponent
(5)
F
F
F
Targeting with Constituencies
Look at your candidate and message
Meet with community leaders early
Build bases of support
Seek endorsements
Target niche media
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Conversations win Elections
Phone Calls & Canvassing:
•
Deliver a campaign’s message
to targeted voters in a
personable way
•
Give the campaign valuable
information about the voter’s
preferences
•
Allow for a targeted field
campaign
Yard signs belong in Yards,
NOT street corners
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Voter Preference Targeting
Canvassing
Know your turf
Prepare your canvass
Packets
Train your volunteers
Provide ‘context’
Explain the Canvass Packet
Materials
Review scripts, responses
and coding instructions
Role Plays!
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Sample Canvass Packet
Scripts
Walksheets
Maps
Campaign Lit
Candidate FAQ
Goodie bags (food, water,
stickers, etc)
Phonebanks
Your most versatile voter contact tactic
•
•
High number of contacts
Two way communication
Ideal for voter identification, persuasion, & GOTV
Drawbacks:
Lower impact than canvassing
Increasingly difficult to reach voters
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Direct Mail
Highly targeted persuasion & GOTV tactic
Once you start, you cannot go dark
Stick with an interesting & repetitive message
Know your production, shipping & delivery
timelines
Drawbacks:
Lower impact than canvass, phones
No info back from voters
Expensive
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Yard Signs and Visibility
Shows supporters and donors your support base
Reminds supporters of their support
No more than 1% of budget spent on visibility
Drawbacks:
Signs don’t vote (just ask Ron Paul)
Often overemphasized at expense of more effective
tactics
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Paid Media
Powerful persuasion tactic when done right
Once you start you cannot go dark
Widespread exposure to electorate
Can be targeted by Demographics
Drawbacks:
Lower impact than canvass, phones
No info back from voters
Very expensive
Time consuming
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Timelines & Benchmarks
1) Start from your goal (Election Day)
and work backwards
2) Identify Your Timeline and
Strategies
3) List your tactics & set benchmarks
4) Revise and Update
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Setting Benchmarks &
Metrics
Identify Your Key Metrics
# of voters contacted
# of supporters identified
# of early vote applications (if applicable)
Identify Your Contact Metrics
% of attempts with contacts (50% standard)
# of calls/doors per hour (10-15 standard)
% of Supporters / Undecideds / Opposes (30% / 40% / 30% standard)
Stick with numbers – Can you reach your goals?
Your early warning system – Are you on track?
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