#VOTEPROCHOICE: Dedicated to transformative election strategy
Introduction
The 2020 election was momentous in many ways, not least because over 157 million Americans cast a ballot, the largest voter turnout in history. By the time the presidential election was finally decided many electoral organizations were ready to take a well-earned break. But for #VOTEPROCHOICE (VPC), an organization dedicated to building a pro-choice electoral majority, the work was just beginning. VPC works to connect pro-choice voters with pro-choice candidates by identifying and endorsing qualified candidates and providing voters with a comprehensive voter guide with recommendations and endorsements for their entire ballot. VPC is acutely aware that advancing their cause requires electing revolutionary leaders in public offices across the country, and that this work does not only exist during marquee elections.
As VPC Director of Voter Products and Research Carly LeQuire observed, “in terms of our goals for the voter guide, and our endorsement and recommendation process, we didn't really shift a whole lot for 2021 because the local candidates are already such an integral part of our theory of change.”
In 2021, the #VOTEPROCHOICE voter guide helped over 50,000 voters identify and cast ballots for pro-choice candidates across the ballot in the two weeks before election day alone. In a year that is typically marked by low voter engagement, VPC and BallotReady continued to meet the impact that most organizations only pursue in presidential cycles.
We sat down with Carly, who is also a former BallotReady team member, as well as VPC’s Chief Political and Communications Officer Sara Tabatabaie to learn more about their strategies to consistently serve their audience and engage voters with their mission, no matter the election cycle.
The Voter Guide
From the first voter guide they published in partnership with BallotReady in 2017, VPC has focused on providing voters with all of the information they need to make informed decisions and providing endorsed candidates with the tools they need to be successful. The voter guide features candidate’s bios, issue stances on reproductive freedom, and endorsements from partner organizations. “Featuring endorsements from partner organizations is helpful both internally and externally. Externally, voters see candidate endorsements from multiple organizations and internally, VPC works with these partners to provide a support network for the candidates in order to help get them into office.” By focusing on fostering relationships to get pro-choice candidates elected, VPC is able to achieve more success than it would independently.
VPC also runs an extensive promotional campaign for its voter guide through emails, social media and ads. In 2021, VPC helped maximize usage by encouraging its partner organizations to consistently send out the voter guide to their email lists, and also saw its highest traffic from Twitter promotion so far.
VPC is able to extend its budget by managing ad-buying internally and “riding the wave” of ad prices to avoid buying at peak times. Coming from an advertising background, Sara understands keenly the impact of the campaign cycle on ad prices. “We know that it’s likely that costs are going to peak in the last week of October, and they are going to come crashing down days before Election Day. ” By leveraging this dropoff, VPC was able to get a head start on their 2021 local voter guide promotion through digital ads and keep their voters engaged even after higher turnout cycles.
This promotional strategy has led to VPC informing millions of voters over the last few cycles and can serve as an example to all of how to consistently encourage voter engagement, particularly in off-years.
“So much activity that either blocks or gives access to reproductive freedom happens at the state and local levels. The things that chip away at reproductive freedom, city councils passing zoning laws, school boards blocking science-based sex education, all of this stuff is happening in our communities and in our state houses.”
- Sara Tabatabaie, VPC’s Chief Political and Communications Officer
Down-Ballot Vision
For VPC, helping voters access the resources they need to vote informed in elections at every level is the only way to get things done. While many organizations put their focus on electing candidates at the national or statewide level, VPC is working to transform voting attitudes by shining a spotlight on down ballot races with the use of BallotReady’s extensive down-ballot data.
Part of this local focus includes endorsing candidates in primary elections in addition to the general elections. As Carly described, “some organizations don't endorse in primary elections, and there are challenges, but it's important because for local candidates many races are decided in the primaries.” According to BallotReady’s database, only 37.73% races were uncontested in the primary, but that number jumped to 60.17% in the general. This means over twenty percent of races were decided in the primary. By choosing to endorse in primary elections, VPC is supporting candidates throughout the campaign and encouraging reproductive freedom to be a key issue in every race.
Interested candidates can apply for an endorsement directly on the VPC website.
Focused on Transformation, Not Just Winning
In an environment as seemingly cut-and-dry as elections, it can be tempting to only focus on winning versus losing. VPC, though, has decided to play the long game. “We don’t measure our success solely on our win rate,” Sara explained. “We know that first time candidates and people who are already disenfranchised by systems of oppression are the ones who have the hardest time running for office. So even just giving them a positive experience running, knowing in their district they are down 30 points from day one, it still helps to increase voter turnout, develop more consistent voting habits, and help people at the top of the ticket. And a lot of the time, we see candidates come back from a loss only to win the next time they run. We need to support candidates who may be future winners.” While winning individual elections is great in the short-term, VPC is committed to transforming the way we view elections to have the most impact in the future.
Carly described their team’s research process, saying, “We make endorsements or recommendations in as many races as possible so that our voters can identify the most progressive, pro-choice candidates in the race” By using BallotReady’s candidate data, VPC is able to identify candidates at every level and support them through the election process. This leads to better relationships with candidates, more focus on pro-choice issues, and a stronger democracy.
Conclusion
Moving forward, Carly and Sara are looking forward to incorporating more interactive features that allow users to become even more engaged with their tools: “We’re trying to position ourselves with digital community building, relational organizing, and empowering our returning users to go spread the good word.” These core values of respecting the importance of local elections and prioritizing relationship building have allowed #VOTEPROCHIOCE to achieve incredible success in just six years. Looking towards 2022 and beyond, VPC and BallotReady are looking forward to continuing to innovate together and expand the reach of VPC’s efforts. Through its work, VPC has revolutionized political organizing and shown that success in off-year elections is not only possible, but highly desired and impactful.