FWD.us: Messaging and Polling 4/05/2019 Polling, Voter Modeling, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

4/05/2019

FWD.us: Messaging and Polling

Polling, Voter Modeling, Message Testing

Top performing/most motivating reform messages ➔ Cost continues to be a top motivator: Taxpayer spending especially in red states continues to be very very motivating --- We knew this ➔ Family impact competes with cost as a top motivator -- We didn’t know this until recently ➔ Individual stories - the only messages we ever tested that competed with family impact and cost was in a poll we did in New York when we tested the Kalief Browder story (70s kicked up to 90s)

Prevalence of Family Incarceration

3

1 in 2 adults

has had an immediate family member incarcerated for at least one night in jail or prison.

In other words, approximately 113 million adults in the United States have experienced incarceration in their family.

Prevalence of Family Incarceration

4

64% of adults

have had an immediate or extended family member in jail or prison. Today an estimated

6.5 million adults

have an immediate family member current incarcerated in jail or prison (1 in 38)

Prevalence of Family Incarceration

5

Prevalence of Family Incarceration

6

Prevalence of Family Incarceration

7

Prevalence of Family Incarceration

8

Unequal Impact

9

Families living in certain parts of the country feel the effects more than others.

Unequal Impact

10

Unequal Impact

Where incarceration does not discriminate is by political party. The rates of family incarceration are nearly identical for Republicans and Democrats.

11

FWD.us: Campaigns,

Redefine scope of impact, Redefine the scope of responsibility

➔ Redefine impact in terms of width (impacting all of us though not equally) and depth (use stories to draw out the harm and the stakes) ➔ Redefine the responsibility beyond usual actors so that eligibility for public service (prosecutors, yes. Also mayors, legislators, parole board members, governors, etc) includes - Do you have a critical analysis about mass incarceration and a plan to address it?

Where we work: Mississippi

Where we work: Mississippi

Mississippi 2019 Criminal Justice Legislation

What we got

• Lifts the ban on SNAP and TANF benefits for Mississippians with felony drug convictions
• Prohibits suspension of driver’s licenses for failure to pay fees and fines and for anyone convicted of

an offense not related to driving

• Expands expungement eligibility from a few nonviolent convictions to nearly all nonviolent

convictions What we didn’t get

• Sentencing reform, pretrial reform, any reform that takes on incarceration

Next Up

• Gov race, DA races (3 reform candidates running)
• 2019 session, new Governor who we want to commit to addressing incarceration

Where we work: New York

Where we work: New York

New York 2019 Pretrial Legislation (Budget bill)

What we got

• Eliminates money bond for more than 90% of people charged
• Expands not arrestable offenses
• Prohibits racially biased risk assessment, prohibits user-pay pretrial services, prohibits privatized or

for-profit pretrial services

• Discovery reform and speedy trial reform

What we didn’t get

• Full elimination of money bail
• Better restrictions on use of electronic monitoring for pretrial release

Next Up

• Regular session (chance to take on more pretrial reform, DL suspension, parole)
• 2019 session, new Governor who we want to commit to addressing incarceration
• 2019 DA races (Queens! And other races)

Where we work: Oklahoma

3 month campaign results

• 48 commutation applicants and

29 signed by the governor, which collectively commuted over 600 years in incarceration

• 60% commutation rate,

compared to the usual 3%

• Set up legislative reform for 2019
• Mainstreamed commutation
• Mainstreamed retroactivity
• Changing culture on Parole

Board

zoe@fwd.us

Get in touch

Where we work: Arizona

Arizona’s 2019 Sentencing Reform Proposal