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We are waiting a few minutes for every one to come on line.

But the Webinar will began right after the singing of “Lift Every Voice”by the students of Oakwood College Slide2
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Today’s Webinar

is on

GOTV part 1Slide4

Charles Snow is a Political Operative & former:

Director of 2 Democratic State Party’s

Presidential Advanceman for the White House

Deputy Chief of Staff to a US Senator

Personal Assistant to a Mayor

Project Manager for the Atlanta Olympic Games

Consultant to many state and local campaigns 

Board Member to an I/T Non-Profit

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These trainings are based on a systems approach to teaching our members civic engagement. Over the years, we’ve all learned tips and tricks, tactics and techniques on how to organize our communities as activists.

Therefore, we don’t interned to ‘tell you how to do what you’ve been doing for years’ rather we’d like to share our experiences and together with other resources we can succeed as an organization.

The 2016 Voter Empowerment workbook is a great resource on how to do GOTV and you should search it out from your State President to help you with your program.

This workbook has become the Gold Standard by which all NAACP units and branches should use for teaching their members about ci

vic engagement.Slide6

Overview of 2016

NAACP Civic Engagement StrategySlide7

Because of

Resource Limitation

and TimeThis year’s GOTV Effort will be:Slide8

Highly Targeted to 17 states.Slide9

And,

Micro Targeted in each of those 17 targeted states, down to the precinct levelSlide10

In fact, we

will concentrate our efforts

on 20 to 30 Marginal – Low Turn-Out African

American precincts.

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So our GOTV Effort will focus on these 400-500 precincts.Slide12

Our Goal for these

400-500

Marginal – Low Turnout

African American Precincts

IS

an increase of 10% above the 2012 turnout levelSlide13

You might ask why take on such a monumental task of bettering the

historic

2012 election?

Well, that’s a good question.

And in the words of President JFK,…” we do this not because it is easy, but because it is

HARD

”Slide14
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So,please be patient as we read through these slides to learn about some of the ‘principles’ on establishing a good GOTV program.Slide16

SOME PRINCIPLES OF GOTV

GOTV is about more than mechanics, it is about inspiration and emotion. Your program must touch voters in a way that motivates them to serve their self-interest

.A GOTV operation must get your voters to the polls. It must provide a message motivates voters to go to the polls and if necessary, give them a ride to the polls.Slide17

Before describing GOTV techniques let’s review a

few basic rules and assumptions upon which all GOTV plans are based.Slide18

The goal of GOTV programs is to

get the maximum number of your voters to the polls.When planning voter education programs make sure you identify enough voters to have an impactful GOTV effort.Slide19

Election Day

is a one-day operation that is the culmination of the GOTV program. The GOTV program, however, begins weeks before Election Day. The entire plan must be designed with GOTV in mind.

Within ten weeks of Election Day you should assign a GOTV Director to begin making final plans and preparations. And within one to two weeks of Election Day the entire campaign operation should be

shifted into GOTV activities that are either run by the GOTV Director or someone else assigned specifically for this purpose.Slide20

GOTV is a very selective program. Like all management tasks, GOTV must apply the limited resources of people, time and money to the fullest advantage.

Within the limits of their resources, choices have to be made to allow for the maximum GOTV effort possible.Success depends upon planning, organization and management.Slide21

Your GOTV programs are designed to

reach voters either individually, in targeted precincts or in most cases a combination of both. Because GOTV is very selective, do not plan to assemble a program in every precinct in your district.

The more information gathered about individual voters, the more targeted and efficient your GOTV plan can be.Slide22

The

GOTV message is very simple: GO VOTE! You ask, cajole and encourage your voters to go to the polls. Additionally, the get-out the-vote message should tell the voters where the Polls are located and when they are open.Slide23

Early Voting

allows voters to cast ballots in person up to two weeks before ElectionDay. These laws, in effect, extend Election Day from a 10 to 12 hour exercise to a multi day exercise and in some states, a 2 week period.Early voting poses a simple management question. How do you use your people and money?Slide24

It is difficult to anticipate the exact specifics of your GOTV program

five to six months before Election Day. But as you develop your general Civic Engagement Program, remember that GOTV is your end product.

Many weeks before the election, you will need to turn the broad outlines of your GOTV program into a cogent, workable GOTV plan.

New political information or demands might change the overall outline you developed during the initial campaign planning stage.Slide25

This may necessitate adjusting the ongoing

civic engagement program or other programs. Planning is a dynamic process, its NOT etched in stone! Changing the plan because of new relevant information

makes good sense as long as the GOTV campaign is not in a constant state of flux.Slide26

EIGHT STEPS TO DEVELOPING A SUCCESSFUL GOTV PROGRAM

1. Establish A Goal.How many African American voters do you expect to turnout?

What is your target for increasing turnout over and beyond that of previous election years? Numeric goals should be set for all GOTV programs based upon research from previous election years.Slide27

2. Select a GOTV Coordinator and Organize a GOTV Committee.

A GOTV Coordinator should be appointed at least 6 weeks before Election Day.

The GOTV Coordinator should be someone with a good knowledge of what has transpired during your campaign and knows the politics and

geography of the district.

This should be someone who has demonstrated

leadership, intelligence and responsibility,

along with an interest in and knowledge of the political process and voting behavior.

As Election Day draws closer, more staff and volunteers should be assigned to GOTV planning and organization.Slide28

Selecting a GOTV Coordinator continued:

The GOTV Coordinator should play a role in helping you organize a GOTV Committee.

This should be a live-wire committee composed of knowledgeable, interested volunteers.

The GOTV committee members should focus on the various elements of the campaign, including: publicity, research, target precincts, neighborhood workers, phone-bank volunteers and canvassers.Slide29

Selecting and Organize a GOTV Committee

cont:The GOTV Coordinators first job is to have the election laws researched by a lawyer or a volunteer lawyer.

After the election laws are thoroughly researched, the GOTV Coordinator must find out how the law is administered locally.Slide30

3.

There are several areas of the

election law that are of particular importance to the campaign's GOTV effort:

The appointment of

poll watchers

(the number needed and the filing deadlines to receive necessary

credentials

),

The

regulations

governing checker and greeters

The

locations of polling places

for each precinct

Any other state law that could affect GOTV such as the requirement in some states that employers’ give employees time off to vote.

State laws concerning voter assistance services (for example, helping senior citizens into the voting booth, assisting the blind and the infirm).

State law re

the closing of polls

and the rights of groups to observe the process.

The appropriate court in which to bring

Election Day

law suits.Slide31

Once this information is collected, the GOTV Coordinator should

prepare a memorandum explaining all election laws. This memorandum should detail the process by which Election Day legal problems can be handled.

GOTV Coordinator should also begin to plug into the local Election Protection Coalition, which will be working to recruit a team of lawyers to handle business on Election Day.Slide32

4. Select Geographic Area for GOTV Efforts

The African-American community will be primary targets for your voter turnout efforts.Communities, neighborhoods or precincts with significant numbers of African American voters should be identified and grouped geographically.

Since our goal is voter turnout, the best unit for grouping voters is the

precinct. Once precincts have been identified, they can be clustered together so that the territory can be handled in a manageable way.Slide33

Using

precinct maps, group targeted precincts.

Note any precincts with high concentrations of

low income or senior citizens.The voters in these precincts usually need the most assistance on Election Day.

As you establish these GOTV precincts,

determine:

• The locations of polling places.

• The precincts that can be canvassed by foot.

• The precincts bisected by highways or railroad tracks, separating some voters from their polling places.Slide34

Assess GOTV Resources

At this point in the planning, the GOTV Coordinator must assess the available resources to reach GOTV targets. These include:

• Your GOTV budget.

• The number of volunteers available for GOTV. Identify where these volunteers live, what they will do and where they will do it.

• The number of

GOTV workers

you can afford to hire or which ones you can at least cover their expenses.

• The strength of

allied organizations.

Where will they be able to deliver on GOTV promises?Slide35

• The number of telephones available for GOTV. Where are they located? Where can you find more?

• The number of cars, vans and buses available to the campaign.• Additional GOTV headquarters sites.Slide36

Allocate Resources

Make sure that the GOTV targets are reached

7 to 11 times, that’s the goal

!

So, design a program that reaches targets both several times in

several different

ways before Election Day and

several times

on Election Day.

In determining how

GOTV resources will be allocated,

the following areas should be considered:

• GOTV Telephone Banking

• GOTV Mailing

• GOTV Canvassing

• GOTV Poll watching

• GOTV Transportation Services

• GOTV Volunteers

• GOTV RalliesSlide37

Integrate GOTV Tools Into a System

As you develop the GOTV program, take into account how effectively each program compliments the others' effectiveness. For example, your ride program should be thoroughly integrated into your

phone operation. As phoners remind voters that Election Day is close, they should ask voters if they need a ride to the polls. On Election Day, drivers should keep phoners notified of voters taken to the polls so they can delete these voters from the

GOTV phone call lists.

In other words, develop systems that bridge the different GOTV operational areas and help us share information and save resources.Slide38

Evaluate and Reassess Your GOTV Program

The best plans are flexible. Take into account new information and new ideas.

Work to refine your basic GOTV plan into an effective tool for pulling your voters. One caution: there comes a time when creativity and change must stop.

The top priority for workers (rather than improvising variations

on the GOTV plan

) must be performing their assigned tasks.Slide39

Questions????Slide40

Our mission is to teach this system to every unit, branch and state conference across the country. With the goal of positioning the NAACP as the #1 place to go for the political., civic, and voter empowerment of Africa Americans.Slide41

Civic Engagement “Desk”

CONTACTS

Sterling Henry, Jr. Deputy Consultant for Civic Engagement

Office: 202-463-2940 Cell: 202-460-2439

henrynaacp@gmail.com

Getachew Kassa, Manager, Voting Rights Initiative

Office: 202-463-2940 Cell: 202-815-1417

gkassa@naacpnet.orgSlide42

Civic Engagement Team CONTACTS

Charles Snow, Senior Consultant for Civic Engagement

Office: 202-463-2940 E-mail: snownaacp@gmail.com

Peter Williams, Executive VP for Programs

Office: 410-580-5130 E-mail:

pwilliams@naacpnet.org