3 secret weapons to winning your local election

My name is Jesse Sandstrom. I have been working on political campaigns my whole life. Since I have started Vottiv our clients include: mayors, city council members, school board members, state legislators, U.S. Senators, and more. As you might imagine, I have been able to recognize the essentials needed to win an election no matter what level you’re running at. There are some tried, and true secrets that help no matter your race. Here are 3 secret weapons for you to give your election the upper hand in your local/state election.

It’s no secret that voter turnout/engagement is low in local elections

Voter Engagement in local elections is tragically lower than presidential elections. According to the U.S Vote Foundation LOCelections from 2004 to 2016 Presidential voter turnout was 60%, and just 30% in local elections.

We can argue how local elections are just as, or more important than presidential elections (they are) but that is a topic for another blog post. The question is how do you approach the low voter turnout, and how to make the most of it.

#1 Voter data

Not all voters are created equally! You need voter data to target voters who will end up voting in the election. Doing this will not only make your campaigning more effective, but it will save you money. Here is an example:

Let’s say you decided to send postcards to everyone in your district of 10,000 people. There might only be 6,500 registered voters. Furthermore, only 2,000 of them will consistently vote in a local election. So, you could send one postcard out to everyone in your district, or send 5 different postcards out to the 2,000 that will most likely vote. Do the same example, but think about knocking on 2,000 doors instead of 10,000.

Voter data will also include relevant information like other demographics, or political models that will show issue stances on voters

#2 Stay top of mind by reaching the right voters several different times (and different ways)

In local elections it is often not the nitty gritty policy stances that decide elections. It is mostly name recognition. You need to get your message down to a few key themes, and get your name out there with them. There are a few practices that work every time to drive up name recognition.

• Yard signs— They are by no means going to win a campaign alone, but have been shown in studies (npr.org) to increase your vote share by 2-3%. Which is the difference between losing and winning a tight race. Work on getting them up in supporters yards, especially on busy roads.
• Meeting voters— best way to meet voters is canvassing. Having a candidate show up at your home is very impressionable. Whether it is you or a volunteer, you will get the name out, and find supporters to place yard signs
• Campaign literature— postcard mailers, door hangers (while canvassing), Text messages, emails are all tools at your disposal to get in front of potential voters several times. It is essential to do a variety of methods because while texts might work for some, a good postcard might sway another voter.

#3 Use Vottiv’s Political Campaign Platform

This last secret weapon has been used by hundreds of campaigns across the US from City Council to US Senate. Here is a list of many of the things you can do from our platform:

• Voter Data
• Canvassing App
• Design Studio: design from templates, and print everything from yard signs, door hangers, shirts, and more.
• Voter Communication: Postcards, SMS/MMS, Email, in-person distribution.
• Many more features!

In the end, all of these strategies boil down to one simple idea: identify your target voters (or anyone that actually votes in your race) and reach them with a tailored message several ways. If you can do that effectively, then your chances of winning are much higher than if you’re just trying to blanket the whole town. Not to mention you will save 100s of hours, and 1000s of dollars.

Get started with a 14-day free trial at vottiv.com