Many tenant leaders are excited to turn out voters in their community but not exactly sure where to begin. Fortunately, you don’t need to start from scratch. Our team has put together a roadmap to guide advocates through every stage of planning a nonpartisan voter engagement campaign that incorporates voter registration, education, mobilization, and protection.
Phase 1: Getting Started
- Call or visit your state or local election office website to confirm the voter registration deadlines for your state and the rules for conducting voter registration drives. Ask whether anyone can register voters in your state, or whether a person must first become authorized to register voters.
- Set voter registration and turnout goals. How will you choose which voters to target? Will you target young voters who recently became eligible to vote? Will you identify new residents who just moved into the building? Will you partner with residents in other buildings and launch a broader registration effort in your neighborhood? Request the voter rolls for your community, so you will know who in your community is already registered. Voter rolls can help you track who is registered and who should be the target of your outreach.
- Connect with other organizations or associations that may be interested in partnering. Developing nonpartisan partnerships can increase your capacity to reach voters in your community.
- Offer nonpartisan registration trainings. Residents who plan to register voters will benefit from receiving training on the process. You may want to bring in someone from the local Board of Elections or County Clerk’s office who can explain the state’s registration requirements and how voter registration forms must be filled out, whether online or on paper.
Phase 2: Nonpartisan Voter Registration
Renters and low-income people are less likely to be registered to vote than homeowners and high-income people. Boosting registration rates is the first step to closing the voter turnout gap. Here are some tips for building enthusiasm about voter registration and increasing the number of registered voters in your community.
- Meet potential voters where they are – both physically and emotionally. Not all community members will actively seek out information about voter registration. If voter registration opportunities are made visible and accessible in places that residents frequently visit, like building lobbies or community events, they are more likely to engage in conversations about voting and take the steps to register. Don’t get frustrated if someone isn’t immediately enthusiastic about registering to vote. It may take a few conversations to build trust, learn about the concerns that people have, and discuss the connections between voting and the issues affecting their daily lives.
- Organize a door-to-door voter nonpartisan registration campaign. Resident leaders can volunteer to receive training and serve as ‘building captains’ or ‘floor captains’. Captains take on responsibility for registering, keeping registration records, and then turning out all the people in their building or on their floor. As a resident, you are a trusted messenger that can answer your neighbors’ questions and get them excited to vote! Be sure that captains keep well-organized records of all the voters they register so that they can reach out again and help them make a voting plan.
- Integrate nonpartisan voter registration into events and activities. Table at social events, like block parties, to encourage residents to register to vote. Consider hosting an event for National Voter Registration Day on September 17, 2024. Ensure that events are accessible to families by making the events kid-friendly or providing childcare. To boost attendance, offer food so that residents will not need to plan their meal schedules around the event.
Key Resource: Our Homes, Our Votes Pledge Card
Voter pledge cards allow volunteers to collect contact information and follow up with newly registered voters, while reminding them of their commitment to vote and providing key information about upcoming elections. Our Homes, Our Votes has a voter pledge card in English and Spanish that you can use in your voter engagement campaigns. Visit www.ourhomes-ourvotes.org/voter-registration to find the pledge card and accompanying user guide.
Positive Messaging Matters!
Many residents may not be registered to vote because they feel that elected officials do not have their interests in mind. To encourage voter registration, connect an individual’s personal experience to the democratic process and the potential for social change. Be prepared to share reminders of very close elections where a small number of voters determined the difference. Remind voters that elections aren’t just about the president – state and local offices, which make decisions about their housing, schools, parks, roads, and other priorities, are also on the ballot.
If you are registering voters in public or subsidized housing, you should encourage them to protect their housing program by voting. Remind them that it’s important to vote for leaders who will maintain or increase the budget for subsidized housing programs so they can make needed repairs and increase the number of community members who have access to affordable homes.
Phase 3: Voter Education
Tenant and resident leaders can also play a role in voter education or ensuring that their community members understand the who, what, when, where, why, and how of elections.
Who: Candidates for local, state, and federal offices
What: State or local ballot measures, if applicable
When: Deadlines for voter registration, dates for early voting and Election Day, mail-in ballot submission deadlines, polling place hours
Where: Polling places and/or ballot drop boxes
How: In-person and mail-in voting options; voter ID requirements
Why: Key issues at play in the election and what’s at stake in the community
Key Resource: Sample Voter Guide
To convey all the essential information about elections in one place, consider developing and distributing a voter guide. You can use the sample voter guide at www.ourhomes-ourvotes.org/voter-education as a starting place.
Phase 4: Voter Mobilization and Protection
The final phase of a nonpartisan voter engagement campaign is voter mobilization, commonly known as get-out-the-vote or GOTV! This phase should also include voter protection – that is, ensuring that voters know their rights so they can cast their ballots with confidence. Here are some GOTV and voter protection activities to consider:
- Provide rides to and from polling locations. Recruit volunteers with cars, or fundraise to rent vans for Election Day, so that residents with limited transportation options can cast their ballots. Consider partnering with an external, nonpartisan organization, like Rideshare2Vote Aware, to offer rides to the polls. If your building is walking distance from a polling place, consider organizing group walks to the polls.
- Become a polling location. Tenant leaders may work with building managers to connect with their local Board of Elections to begin the process of becoming a polling location. Voting will be more accessible to renters if they can vote in the community rooms of their buildings.
- Encourage vote-by-mail and early voting. Rather than turning out the vote all on one day, encourage eligible voters to request mail-in ballots. Check your state’s laws to determine which voters are eligible to vote by mail. Keep a list of mail-in voters in your network and contact them at least 10 days before Election Day to be sure that ballots are being put in the mail in time to be counted. In states where it is available, encourage early voting, which offers more opportunities for people with inflexible schedules or limited transportation options. Consider participating in Vote Early Day (October 29, 2024), which educates voters about early voting options and builds enthusiasm for early voting.
- Ask voters to make a plan. Contact voters, especially newly registered voters, in the weeks leading up to Election Day to ask them how and when they plan to vote, and how they plan to get to their polling place. People are more likely to vote when they have talked through their voting plan. Asking voters to express this plan also allows organizers to verify their polling location details and work through transportation obstacles.
- Ensure that voters know their rights and what to do if their right to vote is challenged. Distribute information about the Election Protection Hotline (866-OUR-VOTE). Voters can call this number if their right to vote is being challenged, if they face voter intimidation, or if they see voter misinformation.
For even more tips and templates to assist with your voter registration and mobilization efforts, you can refer to the Our Homes, Our Votes website, which can be found at ourhomes-ourvotes.org