Running Successful Running Successful Local Ballot Campaigns - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Running Successful Running Successful Local Ballot Campaigns

Michigan Municipal League March 25 2011 March 25, 2011

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>>About Me<<

Partner, Martin Waymire Advocacy Communications

Former Free Press and Detroit News reporter 20 years in public policy communications Worked on a dozen or so ballot proposal campaigns

Statewide Proposal 1 of 2004 (won)

p ( )

Statewide Proposal 1 of 2002 (lost) Huron County Road Millage 1995 (won) Statewide Proposal C of 1994 (won) Statewide Proposal C of 1994 (won) Statewide Proposal D of 1992 (won)

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>>Mason Public Schools<<

O 1995 O First millage O First millage

approval since President Richard Ni i ffi Nixon in office

O Silver Anvil (the PR

fi ld’ t field’s most prestigious honor)

Alaiedon Elementary School

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>>All the pieces<<

Plan (What is your policy goal/solution?) Coalition (Who will work to pass it? Oppose it?) Finances (Budget? How will you fund the campaign?)

R h (C it ?)

Research (Can it pass?) Messages/messengers (What and who wins votes?) Accessing the ballot … how will your question get on

the ballot?

C

liti d O i ti (Wh / t ff th

Coalition and Organization (Who runs/staffs the

campaign?)

Earned Media/PR Paid Media Direct voter contact/GOTV efforts Direct voter contact/GOTV efforts Events Inside Tips

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>>Planning<<

O Design and develop O Design and develop O Determine O Form and name O Form and name O Campaign staff

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Plan: Design and Develop

O Define and set your policy goal

(what solves the problem?)

O Define objectives to meet the goal

(what strategies and tactics must be executed to win?)

O Develop detailed timelines/calendar

(make sure you know legal deadlines; when community events deadlines; when community events are being held; when you need funds)

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Plan: Determine

O Budget and possible funding sources (yes O Budget and possible funding sources (yes

votes = more costs and more effort!)

O Earned, paid and social media tactics O Research needs and how to meet them

(quantitative and qualitative; precinct turnout history; active community groups; churches) history; active community groups; churches)

O GOTV strategy and tactics O Legal strategy (election attorney), including

writing the question

O ID key supporters and opponents

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Plan: Form and Name Plan: Form and Name

Form & Name Coalition/Organization Form & Name Coalition/Organization

O Form ballot campaign committee, steering

committee and specialty committees (must form campaign committee within 10 days of receiving/spending $500)

O Committees would be PR/Media, GOTV,

Fundraising, Community Organizing

O Recruit supporters (business leaders,

neighborhood associations, key local leaders) eade s)

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Plan: Campaign ‘staff’

Campaign “staff”:

O Manager O Research O Research O Earned media O Paid media

GOTV

O GOTV O Community Organizing O Volunteers!

Especially important in local ballot campaigns (will cover later when we discuss the organization)

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You’ve come together. How to stay together.

O Plan the work

W k th l

O Work the plan O Revise constantly

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>>Finances/Budget<<

Possible/likely costs:

Design, printing, mailing of collateral materials/lit

pieces

Buying voter lists Website Facebook, Twitter, blogger administrators Paid media (radio newspaper TV web billboards) Paid media (radio, newspaper, TV, web, billboards) Lawyer, accountant Fund-raising event(s) (coffees, dinners) Research/poll Research/poll GOTV activities (buses, cabs, phone bank to call

voters election day)

Possible challenge/recount Signature collection (if necessary) Signature collection (if necessary)

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>>Research<<

O Quantitative O Quantitative O Qualitative O On-the-Record O On-the-Record

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Research: Quantitative

Q tit ti Q lit ti O th R d Quantitative, Qualitative, On-the-Record

Quantitative = Voter Survey y (400-600 sample)

O Measure level of support, opposition

pp , pp

O Determine best messages for and against O Determine best message senders for and against

D t i t lik l “ ” t

O Determine your most likely “yes” voters O Test question language O Can this thing even pass? O Can this thing even pass?

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Research: Survey Says

Getting the Survey Done (Two Options):

O Buy list of high-performance voters O Have a pro develop the questionnaire (search

community, community colleges, university)

O Phone bank location (local business) O Phone bank location (local business) O Volunteers (train them to do calls; 5-7 nights) O Develop caller packets O Need someone to crunch the data O Need someone to analyze the data

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There is an alternative

O Press the “easy” button O Hire a professional firm

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Research: Qualitative

Qualitative = Focus group(s)

T t d f

O Test messages and messengers from

quantitative research, or vice versa

O Test validity of opposition messages

T t ff ti f d /lit t

O Test effectiveness of your ads/literature

pieces

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Research: On-the-Record

On-the-Record Research

Turnout history and results by precinct (where are most

votes; where are most “yes” votes; where are the problem areas)

When will absentee ballots go out? Deadlines: to get wording to clerks for ballot; to get petitions

to clerks; for council to pass resolution putting proposal on ; p p g p p ballot

List of neighborhood organizations Community calendar of events Community calendar of events List of churches

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Research: Opposition

O Opposition Research

O Who are the opponents and what will they do? O Did they file a committee, are they legal? O How much funding will they have?

Th i ?

O Their messages? O Their strategies and tactics? O Can you get a mole on the inside?

y g

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>>Access and message<<

O Accessing the ballot O Accessing the ballot

O Messengers O Messages O Messages

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Accessing the ballot

O Various state statutes -- 150 or so --

specify what issues may qualify for local ballots (consult an attorney)

O Action of school board, county

commission city/village council commission, city/village council

O Signature requirements vary by statute

(“County-Local Proposal Petition” sample available at state Bureau of Elections)

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Messages and messengers

O What are your best messages (per

research)? research)?

O Who are your best messengers (per

research)?

O What are your opponents’ best messages

and messengers (per research)?

O Do different messages and messengers O Do different messages and messengers

work better with different audiences (senior voters, for example)?

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>>Coalition-Building<<

O Grass-tops O Grass-tops

O Diversity O Roles O Roles

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B ild liti d Build a coalition and

• rganization
• rganization

The more community grass-tops support you

have the better your chances

Broad and diverse (business, labor,

government, community leaders, teachers, coaches pastors public safety seniors coaches, pastors, public safety, seniors, minority representation, etc.)

Recruit volunteers who have campaign Recruit volunteers who have campaign

expertise … research, PR/media, legal, accounting, web and social media, graphic designers, printers, etc.

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Coalition and Organization

O All bring something

O Name O Money O Cachet O Cachet O Practical, applicable campaign skills and

experience

O Make sure all welcome and

informed

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Coalition and Organization Coalition and Organization

Steering committee Committees committee Committees Fund- Legal, PR/earned Campaign manager raising accountant Community

• rganizing

GOTV and paid media Research

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Coalition and Organization

Divvy up the duties by committee/key Divvy up the duties by committee/key function

O Chair, GOTV Committee (in charge of GOTV

efforts)

O Chair, Fund-raising Committee O Chair PR/Communications (earned and paid O Chair, PR/Communications (earned and paid

media, literature development)

O Chair, Community Organizing (events, lit drops,

direct contacts with voters) direct contacts with voters)

O Legal, accounting

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>>Media<<

O Earned media/PR O Earned media/PR O Paid media O Social media O Social media

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Earned media/PR

D l & t lki i t f th h

Develop messages & talking points from the research Hold kickoff news conference Get press to various events (voters must see and feel the

i d th bl ) pain and the problem)

Meet with editorial board/publisher Hold a debate with opponents

S k thi d t d t

Seek third party endorsements Get on TV news Op/eds, letters to the editor

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Paid media

O Advertising: Based on research, using best

g g messages and messengers possible

O Direct mail -- 3 at least: one general educational to all

voters absentee voter mailing a GOTV mailing within voters, absentee voter mailing, a GOTV mailing within a week of election day)

O Billboards O Web O Possibly radio and TV

(expensive hard to target) (expensive, hard to target)

O Yard signs

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Social media/web

Develop social media strategies

O Facebook

Bl

O Blogs O Twitter O YouTube and Flickr (videos and photos to show O YouTube and Flickr (videos and photos to show

the pain/demonstrate the problem)

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>>GOTV!<<

O Get Out the Vote O Get Out the Vote O Events

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Get Out the Vote (GOTV)

O List of certain “yes” voters O Call them on election day (phone bank needed with

l t ) volunteers)

O Drive them to the polls on election day (buses, vans,

cars) cars)

O Neighborhood canvassing/door to door O Tell all the “no” voters the election is in two weeks …

yeah, that’s right, two weeks! ☺

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Events

O Show voters the problem – tours of

facilities, photos, videos (YouTube, Flickr)

O Latch onto existing events (booths at fairs,

lit drops at parades, lit drops at local malls) malls)

O Hold debate with opponents O Hold information nights for community

g y

O Visit local long-term care facilities

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I id ti Inside tips

“Q i t” i f il

O “Quiet” campaigns fail

(you must be loud to someone, right?) G t billb d i i t l ti

O Get billboards in prominent locations O Best lists are from Practical Political

C lti i E t L i Consulting in East Lansing

O Voter contact, voter contact, voter contact!

V t t t t h d

O Voters trust teachers, nurses and cops

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Inside Tips

Hold regular meetings of the executive

committee, campaign manager, and committee chairs (at local church, business, private home)

Don’t forego the research! If you think you Don t forego the research! If you think you

know what voters think, see me. I’ll make you rich.

You must create a problem before you

solve it.

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Questions?

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