GOTV PREPARATION 2
Mike D’Armi
Deputy Field Director, OFA-FL
OBJECTIVE
Knowledge: Understand the basics elements of training volunteers
to help out with get out the vote efforts.
Skill: Learn how to set up a GOTV staging location and plan an
Election Day timeline.
Attitude: Participants should leave the session with a deeper
appreciation and motivation for engaging volunteers in GOTV
efforts.
Growth: Participants should leave the session with ideas on how to
use GOTV trainings, dry runs, and overall GOTV preparation to
strengthen and grow their organization.
AGENDA
Welcome
Introductions
Planning for GOTV
Running Effective GOTV Trainings
Creating Election Day Tick Tocks
Staging Locations (finding them and staffing
them)
Q&A
Close
Presenter:
Mike D’Armi
Deputy Field Director
OFA-Florida
PLANNING FOR GOTV
• What are you running and what is your time frame
(electoral, issue-based, constituency, etc.)?
• What is the scope of your program, where does it need
to go?
• Building and following a specific calendar.
• Where to place your dry runs and trainings.
• Constantly check your progress and ask yourself “where
would we be if Election day were tomorrow?”
RUNNING EFFECTIVE TRAININGS
• It is never too early to plan GOTV Trainings.
• Start at the top and work your way down.
– The trainings will start small (staff) and turn into 100
person launches
• Be Strategic about training order
• 1. Senior Staff
– 2. Junior Staff
– 3. Volunteer Leaders
– 4. General Volunteers
•
These should be numerous and as locally based as possible.
• Use trainings to grow your capacity.
RUNNING EFFECTIVE TRAININGS
• Every training should balance large groups and
breakouts by role.
• Roles
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Staging Location Directors
Phone Bank Captains
Canvass Captains
Bellwether Runners
Drivers, greeters, town criers, etc.etc.
• The breakout leaders should initially be staff but will
eventually be top volunteers.
CREATING A TICK TOCK
• First rule: Trust your experience
– What has worked in the past?
– What are the 2-3 mistakes from past Edays that you have learned from?
• Work backwards from polls closing.
– When Should staging locations be open?
– What reporting times make sense?
– Reporting numbers and bellweather reporting often must be at different
times.
– Work Chain of Command into the schedule.
• Be Honest
– The Tick Tock shows how serious GOTV is, it should be a bit scary!
CREATING A TICK TOCK
• First rule: Trust your experience
– What has worked in the past?
– What are the 2-3 mistakes from past Edays that you have learned from?
• Work backwards from polls closing.
– When Should staging locations be open?
– What reporting times make sense?
– Reporting numbers and bellweather reporting often must be at different
times.
– Work Chain of Command into the schedule.
• Be Honest
– The Tick Tock shows how serious GOTV is, it should be a bit scary!
TICK TOCK
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•
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4:45 AM
5:30 AM
7:00 AM
9:00 AM
10:00 AM
10:15 AM
11:00 AM
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
2:15 PM
• 3:00 PM
• 4:00 PM
Wake Up Calls to SL leads
Arrive at Staging Location
Polls Open!
First shifts begin
Canvass Captains Report 1
Phone Bank Captains Report 1
Bellwether Report 1
Second Shifts Begin
Canvass Captain Report 2
Phone Bank Captain Report 2
Bellwether Report 2
Shift 3 Begins
TICK TOCK (CONTINUED)
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4:15 PM
Canvass Captain Report 3
4:30 PM
Phone Bank Captain Report 3
5:00 PM
Final Bellwether Report
6:00 PM
Final Push (everyone to the doors)
6:45 PM
Line Captains Assemble
7:00 PM Polls Close (line captains assemble remain at polls).
STAGING LOCATIONS
• How many do you need/Assessing your needed
capacity?
– Work backwards!
– This works hand in hand with vote goals and size of your organization.
• Look first for free and then for cheap.
• These should be closest to polling places first and
capacity second
– If your bluest areas have the most volunteers, you will need more SLs to handle
the capacity, regardless of polling locations.
• Trust your gut.
– Will the location work? Is there high traffic? Are there local business/events that
will interfere? Check local calendars!!
FINDING STAGING LOCATIONS DIRECTORS
• Staging Locations need to be managed by top
volunteers you can trust.
– They are the biggest part of election day. The difference
between competence and a weak captain can make or break a
close race/initiative.
• Test, test, test. And test again!
– These should be your most trained and most tested volunteers
and staff.
– Its ok if a veteran Volunteer leader has a larger role than a staffer
or intern.
RUNNING STAGING LOCATIONS
• Factory Model
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Remove all uneccessary comfort.
Keep the phones as far away from the canvassing as possible.
Effeciency is Key.
Have a bullpen and a question area.
• Is there internet access? Is there Cell Phone
Reception?
– If the answer is yes, still find a plan B and plan C.
• Easily forgotten but still important: Figure out how to feed
your volunteers, keep the canvassers dry, and the
bankers on the phones.
FACTORY MODEL
EVERYTHING IN
THE FIELD LEADS
TO GOTV
QUESTIONS?