The goal of every Vote Early Day celebration is to help as many voters as possible take measurable steps toward casting their ballot in a fun and engaging atmosphere. We encourage everyone to celebrate in a way that best fits the needs of their friends, family, and community. This guide will help provide some inspiration and suggestions for outreach ideas, but how you celebrate is up to you!
Goals:
For Vote Early Day celebrations, you should measure their success nationwide by the number of voters who take one (or more) of the following actions:
- Casting a Ballot: How many people drop off their mail ballot or cast a vote in person as part of your Vote Early Day celebration
- Making a Plan to Vote: How many people create a concrete plan for when and where they will cast their ballot
- Looking Up Voter Information: How many people use the Vote Early Day voter tool or find information from a local election office.
As you begin to plan out your activation, you can use this worksheet to determine an achievable goal for your organization.
Celebrate through Social Media Outreach
Overview:
Spread the word about voting early through social media! Creative content on your choice of social media platform can encourage and empower voters to go to the polls.
Examples:
- Post a video on your social media story about why you are voting early: [Tier 1 – Neighborhood Impact]
Explaining to your followers why you vote early is a super easy and personal way to encourage them to do the same! Feel free to share a story about your experience voting early, why you like the flexibility of voting early, or whatever else comes to mind. - Text our Voter Tool to your friends and family: [Tier 2 – Community Impact]
Vote Early Day’s online voter tool can help voters find out when and where to vote early. By sending this to friends and family, you can encourage them to make a plan to vote and help them cast their ballot. - Make a TikTok that shares information about how people can vote early: [Tier 2 – Community Impact]
State election laws can get confusing. Make your followers more confident about local elections by sharing Vote Early Day’s online voter tool with them so they know when and where they can vote early. - Post a series of polls on your Instagram story that ask your followers questions about when, where, and how they will vote: [Tier 1 – Neighborhood Impact]
Polls are a fun and interactive way to see how far along your followers are in planning their vote. Launching a series of polls on your Instagram lets you remind your online community what they should think about to make a voting plan. This is also a chance for you to see where there are gaps in knowledge that you can help fill in. - Link voteearlyday.org or another voter information website in your bio: [Tier 1 – Neighborhood Impact]
People often get curious about a link in someone’s bio on social media. Linking to voteearlyday.org or another voter information site is a great way to ensure that whoever sees your profile is more likely to make a plan to vote early. - Post an Instagram Note telling your followers to make a plan to vote: [Tier 1 – Neighborhood Impact]
Take advantage of the new Note feature on Instagram and post a 24-hour message that’ll show up in your followers’ DM inbox)! A short statement reminding your followers to make a plan to vote or telling them about a voter information resource is the perfect way to encourage civic participation. - Make a TikTok that documents your voting process! [Tier 2 – Community Impact] Film a TikTok that walks through your commute to and from your polling place as you go to vote early! People will be encouraged to vote when they see your successful trip to the ballot box. Be sure to follow all of your state’s filming rules if you take a video inside your polling place.
- Post information about voting early on an anonymous forum app like YikYak or Sidechat: [Tier 1 – Neighborhood Impact]
Sharing voter information on an anonymous app is a way to post on social media without worrying about unconscious bias or other barriers getting in the way. You could reach a wider or different audience by posting a short message about voting early on an anonymous forum app!
Why this celebration works:
The more your friends see “I voted” selfies and Vote Early Day graphics on their feeds, the more likely they feel they’re missing out on the fun if they haven’t voted yet. When you post, use #VoteEarlyDay, include a link to the Vote Early Day online voter tool or other helpful resources, and encourage your friends to share their voting experience, too! You can find sample social media posts here.
Celebrate by Helping Friends and Family Vote
Overview:
People are much more likely to vote early if they know their friends and family are doing it, too. Share your voting story with the people you care about and nudge them to take that last step of casting their ballot.
Examples:
- Vote as a group: [Tier 2 – Community Impact]
Get your friends and family together and walk or carpool to an early voting location or a ballot drop box. Then, go out for ice cream to celebrate! - Call, text, or email your personal network: [Tier 2 – Community Impact]
A simple “I voted early today! Did you?” message on Vote Early Day can go a long way. Send at least three friends and family members a link to the Vote Early Day online voter tool to help them make a plan to cast their ballots early. Keep the momentum going by asking them to pass along the resource to three of their friends. Check out our sample phone, text, and email scripts for inspiration.
Why this celebration works:
Studies show that a personal push from a friend or family member can be the most effective way to get someone to cast their ballot. Whether in person, over text, or on social media, the more you talk about voting early, the more it becomes the norm for your personal network.
Celebrate by Educating Voters
Overview:
Help the people in your network understand their options for voting early and take active steps toward casting their ballot on Vote Early Day!
Examples:
- Write a letter to the editor about voting early: [Tier 2 – Community Impact]
Spread the word about voting early through your local media! In a letter to the editor, you can share your voting story, what this election means to you, and what people’s options are for voting early. Include a link to Vote Early Day’s online voter tool to help readers plan to vote. Give your local paper a few weeks’ notice and see if you can coordinate with them to have the letter published on Vote Early Day. You can find tips for your LTE here. - Make a pitch at a class, office, or community meeting: [Tier 2 – Community Impact]
Ask for a minute at the start of a meeting to remind people to vote early on Vote Early Day. Share information about where people can vote early and why this election is so essential. Be sure to share why this election matters to you! By the end of the meeting, make sure that everyone has made their plan to vote using the Vote Early Day online voter tool or our print-at-home cards. You can find a sample script here.
Why this celebration works:
Studies show that people are much more likely to vote if they make a concrete plan for how they’ll cast their ballot. Vote Early Day celebrations are the perfect opportunity to help voters consider their options for voting early and decide which method works best for them.