Non-Partisan Voter Registration and
Get-out-the-Vote (GOTV) Planning and Training Material
This information was assembled by:
Larry Wood, Organizer, Goddard Riverside Community Center
Planning A Nonpartisan Voter Registration Drive
Step 1: Planning your drive [1]
• Be prepared. Know the facts. Read and familiarize yourself with this packet of information, especially understanding rules around partisan activities.
• Work with others. Identify staff members that are interested in helping plan the drive and working at the registration tables. Consider recruiting youth participants to work on your registration drive.
• Decide what type of voter registration activities you want to do. Decide whether it is best to have staff at tables actively registering people to vote or simply have an information table containing registration forms and voter information.
• Select a site for your registration table. Find a place that is visible, accessible and has a steady flow of pedestrian traffic. Depending on the number of volunteers you have, you may want to set up a few tables in strategic areas. If you plan to do the registration indoors, remember to get permission from the person in charge of the building area. While you can set up tables on any public sidewalk, it is a good idea to let business owners know ahead of time.
• Select dates and times. Try to select times when the area will be most crowded to increase the number of potential registrants – shopping centers, business districts, churches, synagogues, near subway stations and bus stops. Make sure that the dates you have selected are on or before the deadlines.
• Gather the necessary materials:
• Registration forms in several languages (Call the Board of Elections, at 1-866-VOTE-NYC, to order forms in advance and to obtain forms)
• Absentee ballot applications (call the Board)
• List of registration deadlines and election dates
• Pens (blue and black only)
• Tables and chairs
• Basic information for volunteers
• Identifying posters and signs and badges for volunteers
• List of public offices to be filled
• Information sheet on how to use the voting machine
• Recruit, train and assign volunteers. Volunteers should be trained to fill out forms correctly and be prepared to answer basic questions. Be sure that volunteers know where registration is being held and what time they are expected to be there.
• Publicize your drive. Use flyers, announcements and local papers to advertise where and when your drive will take place.
Step 2: Conducting your drive
• Arrive at least 15 minutes before you are scheduled to begin , to set up your table and organize your materials. Remember, if you have a table don't stand behind it! Approach each person and get his or her attention.
• Once you've encouraged individuals to register, set them up at a table with a pen (blue and black ink only), form, and a clipboard. Then move on the next person.
• Check the voter registration forms for mistakes:
• Make sure the form is filled out legibly in blue or black ink.
• Check for blank spaces.
• Make sure they sign the form.
• Volunteer to drop off or mail their completed forms.
• Make sure that completed forms are placed in a secure area during the drive.
• Optional: Take people's names and numbers/addresses for follow-up reminders. If your organization has the money for postage, have registrants fill out a postcard with polling site information and election dates and times. Keep a tally on the number of voters registered by zip code.
Step 3: Implement Voter registration into Agency's Intake processes (and culture).
Have a staff member that is primarily responsible for your organization's voter registration effort. You can order voter registration forms, absentee ballot applications (all available in multiple languages), new voter rights information guides and “register here” signs.
When a member of the community first engages an agency staff member to obtain a service or to join a program, they are to be asked: “If you are not registered to vote, would you like to register here today?” You can use the NYS-NVRA “agency-based voter registration form” (call 1-518-474-1953) and include it with any “client intake”, “application” or “membership” documents that your agency may have for a prospective program participant. Examples include: seniors joining a senior center, parents signing up children for Daycare or After-school program or even someone filling out application to get on waiting list for a housing program.
Holding A Nonpartisan Candidates Forum [2]
Candidate forums are among the most effective way of providing citizens with the information they need. A forum can be a helpful way of providing accurate information on the candidates' positions on the issues.
A nonprofit organization may sponsor a candidates' forum in which [3] :
• The organization invited ALL qualified candidates.
• An independent panel prepared the questions.
• The topics covered a broad range of issues, including those of particular importance to the sponsor's members.
• Each candidate had an equal opportunity to present his or her views.
• The moderator was neutral and acted in an unbiased manner, including making a statement at the beginning and end of the program that the views expressed were not that of the sponsoring organization.
Organizing a successful forum:
• Carefully select a committee to plan and organize the forum. Be sure that the committee includes people with a variety of skills and with experience and time to commit to the project.
• Work with others. By including a variety of groups in your plans, you'll tap into more ideas and a broader range of resources for citizen education activities. Keep in mind that word-of-mouth is a valuable form of publicity.
• Consider co-sponsorship. You may want to consider cosponsoring your event with another group or groups. This allows you to lower expenses and increase “people power.” However, it is important that you and your cosponsors share the same project goals. If your aim is to educate the public in an unbiased fashion, avoid cosponsoring with groups that are actively promoting a specific issue or select groups that represent different sides of an issue.
• Keep your focus. While you may want your forum to be as comprehensive as possible, trying to cover too many topics may frustrate people and diminish their interest. Instead, arrange a series of forums on different topics or choose one issue to focus on. Some issues that you may want to concentrate on are: Children and youth issues (i.e. child care, education, after school programs, or youth employment); senior services (i.e. access to health care, prescription plans, or home bound care); Employment issues (i.e. access to employment training, ESL and GED courses). Be prepared to ask specific questions and raise specific issues concerning these topics.
• Incorporate active participation in the forum. Be sure to build interaction and participation into your format, whether it is through small-group discussions or a question-and-answer period. Nothing is more boring than a program in which participants are lectured to and have no chance to think and reflect. The most effective techniques encourage participants to think for themselves, to assimilate information and put it into their own terms, and to reach their own conclusions.
• Involve different people. Reach out to the widest possible community for speakers, panelists and participants, especially people who can offer expert or alternative opinions and background information on an issue. Look for those who represent diverse organizations and different segments of the population. Reach out to community groups, civil rights groups, ethnic groups, campus organizations, youth and student groups, senior citizen groups, etc.
• Put the basics on paper. Don't force people to try to digest complicated information from an oral presentation. Instead, provide participants with easy to read written materials. Fact sheets, short articles and brochures are always a sure bet. If possible, provide these written materials in advance so that participants have a basic level of knowledge before your activity takes place. Providing written materials ensures that everyone is working from a common database.
• Follow up. Your event will motivate some participants to become more involved in citizen education efforts. Take advantage of this list of potential new volunteers or members for your group. At a minimum, get the names and addresses of participants so that you can send them information about future events. Put them on your mailing list – you may acquire new members if you can keep them engaged.
Get Out the Vote On Election Day
Voter registration is just the first step. It is also vital to get voters to the polls on Election Day. Find out if your organization can do any of the following activities to mobilize voters:
• Provide voters with as much information as possible about election dates, polling sites, offices to be filled, etc. For information about specific candidates, encourage voters to read the newspapers or contact party headquarters.
• Follow-up with new registrants by phone, mail, or in-person to provide basic information such as polling site times and election dates. Set up phone banks to call voters the day before the election to remind them to vote.
• Make arrangements for transportation to better enable voters to get to the polls.
• Try to ensure that all homebound persons are able to vote by providing them with an absentee ballot application.
• If your site serves as a voting poll site you might provide breakfast and snacks for voters.
• Display “Get out the vote” posters at your site.
[1] Information provided in this section comes from the Voter Registration Kit , JPAC for Older Adults.
[2] Information provided in this section comes from Get Out and Vote: Encouraging Voter Participation in Your Community , League of Women Voters Education Fund.
[3] The Rules of the Game: An Election Year Legal Guide for Nonprofit Organizations , Colvin, G. L. and Finley, L., The Alliance for Justice.