Maximizing MD
VoteBuilder
Brandon Cloud, MDP Data and Political Director
bcloud@mddems.org | 410.269.8818
Agenda
• Background of VAN
• Where does data come from? What data is included?
• Cost Structure
• Central Committee Usage
• Basic Features
• Phone Banks, Mailings, Walk Lists, Volunteers
• Advanced Features
• Scores
• Phone Features
• MiniVan
Glossary of Terms
VoteBuilder (VAN)
Software which allows users to manipulate and utilize the
State Database of registered voters
Background of VAN
Registration
Form
State Board of
Election
DNC Appends
Data File
exported,
given to MDP
Voterfile
Voterfile
• List of registered
Voters
• Includes Voter’s
Voting History
and Method
• Includes Voter’s
Contact
Information
• Includes Voter’s
Party
DNC Standardization
MDP
Acquires File
from BoE
MDP Gives
Data to DNC
MDP Ensures
Accuracy
DNC Loads to
Staging Area,
checks data
DNC Appends
Information
DNC
Standardizes
Information
DNC Standardization
• Check Districts, Vote
History, Vote Method,
Number of Voters and
Voter Statuses
• Standardize Format of
Parties, Vote History,
and Precincts
• Address
Standardization (a key
to Matching)
DNC Appends
Appends
• Ethnicity/Religion
• Census Data
• Geocodes for Walking
• Primary and Second Phone Appends
• National Change of Address (NCOA)
• Address Types
• Consumer Enhancements
• Deceased File Matching
Cost Structure
Statewide
• $8,600
Congressional/Large County Executive
• $4,300
State Senate and At-Large House of Delegates
• $2,300
Split House of Delegates District (like 37A/B, 35A/B)
• $1,150
County Council
• $600-1,150 depending on the size of the county
Smaller races (including municipal) are also available and range in
price depending on size
Cost Structure
Cost Includes:
• One time fee through entire election cycle
• Any training necessary
• As many individual user accounts under the Committee
as needed
• Ongoing support/troubleshooting
Central Committee Usage
• Maryland Democratic Party provides free access to each
County Central Committee
• The Chair of the Central Committee is the arbiter of
access
• Using VAN Central Committees can recruit and track
volunteers, track donors, build and retain information
about attendees to events, and of course- contact voters
Basic Features
Basic Features
Quick Look Up
Quick Look Up
Quick Look Up
Create A List
Create A List
Create A List
Create A List
Cutting Turf
Cutting Turf
Cutting Turf
Cutting Turf
Creating Walk/Call Lists
Creating Walk/Call Lists
Creating Walk/Call Lists
Creating Walk/Call Lists
Creating Walk/Call Lists
Other Tasks with “My List”
Other Tasks with “My List”
Other Tasks with “My List”
Other Tasks with “My List”
Other Tasks with “My List”
Other Tasks with “My List”
Data Entry
Data Entry
Data Entry
Data Entry
Data Entry
Data Entry
Advanced Features
Advanced Features
Advanced Features
Advanced Features
Advanced Features
Advanced Features
Advanced Features
Advanced Features
Scores
Scores
• Scores are models created using many different data
points
• They attempt to take traditional targeting and increase
the effectiveness by adding new dimensions
• For example not all 0-3’s and 3-3’s are created equal- so
the model improves upon that
Scores
Scores
Scores
Scores
Scores- Types of Models
• Attitudinal
•
•
•
•
•
•
General attitude positions
Specific issue positions
Ballot initiative support
Persuadability
Knowledge about issues
Interest in politics
• Demographic
• Marital status
• Religiosity
• Ethnicity
• Behavioral
• Turnout
• Donor
• Responsiveness to
programs
• Early voters
Scores- where models are most useful
• Where programs include large volume of voter contact
• More contacts, more scope for efficiency gains to have impact
• Where traditional tools are lacking or less effective
• Where targets are harder to intuit
• Primaries
• Candidates who buck partisan trends
• Cross-cutting issues
Scores- how do they scale?
• Probability Scores
• Are the probability of an individual having the modeled attribute
• Ranked Scores
• Are how much more or less likely someone is to have the
modeled attribute than others in the scored population
Scores- final thoughts
• Scores/microtargeting are a means not an ends
• There are no awards for losing an election while using the most
advanced microtargeting
• Important to match the right tool to the right job
Maximizing MD
VoteBuilder
Brandon Cloud, MDP Data and Political Director
bcloud@mddems.org | 410.269.8818