With every Vote Early Day celebration, we want 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 activation ideas, but how you celebrate is totally up to you!
Celebrate by Helping Friends and Family Vote
Overview:
People are much more likely to vote early if they know that 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:
Get a bunch of your friends and family together and walk or carpool to a location for voting early (either in person or with a ballot drop box). Go out for ice cream afterwards to celebrate!
- Call, text, or email your personal network:
A simple “I voted early today! Did you?” message on Vote Early Day can go a long way. Send at least 3 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 each of them to pass along the resource to 3 of their friends as well. Check out our sample phone, text, and email scripts for inspiration.
- Post on social media:
The more your friends see “I voted” selfies and Vote Early Day graphics on their feeds, the more likely they are to 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, and encourage your friends to share their voting experience too! You can find sample social media posts here.
Goals:
For this kind of Vote Early Day celebration, we will measure our success nationwide by the number of voters who take one of the following actions:
- Cast a ballot on Vote Early Day (either in person or with a ballot drop box)
- Post a photo on social media with their “I voted” sticker and tag #VoteEarlyDay
As you begin to plan out your activation, you can use this worksheet to determine an achievable goal.
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 it’s 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 personal network understand their options for voting early and take an active step toward casting their ballot on Vote Early Day!
Examples:
- Join a #VoteEarlyDay Twitterstorm to get resources about voting early trending online:
We will be hosting several Twitterstorms in the weeks leading up to Vote Early Day. These are national days of action where our partners come together to flood Twitter with positive messages and resources for voting early. To participate, simply log onto Twitter during the hours of our Twitterstorm and tweet resources and reminders about voting early using the hashtag #VoteEarlyDay. You can learn more about our Twitterstorms here.
- Write a letter to the editor about voting early:
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 the online voter tool on the Vote Early Day website to make it easy for readers to make a 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:
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 important. 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.
Goals:
For Vote Early Day educational celebrations, we will measure our success nationwide by the number of voters who take one of the following actions:
- Make a concrete plan for when and where they will cast their ballot
- Fill out a pledge that they will cast their ballot early
- Find their location for voting early (either in person or with a ballot drop box)
- Request their absentee ballot
As you begin to plan out your activation, you can use this worksheet to determine an achievable goal for your organization.
Why this celebration works:
Studies show that people are much more likely to vote if they make a concrete plan for how they’re going to cast their ballot. Vote Early Day celebrations are the perfect opportunity to help voters think through their options for voting early and decide which method works best for them.