Getting voters the information they need about elections when they need it is a constant challenge. Clear and focused communication will be essential as election officials like you accommodate increased mail ballot requests from voters wanting to vote safely at home this November. Less than 5% of election offices have dedicated communications staff, though we think most of you would agree that getting these messages to voters as effectively and efficiently as possible is a high priority.
This Election Official Communications Toolkit is for all election officials, but particularly those of you who are looking to add more tools to your box. Whether you have no communications capacity or a large budget, you can find something useful to include in your elections communications plan.
NEW! We have added new features including: Spanish graphics, a customizable info graphic, and video. All of these additional assets can be downloaded directly and incorporated into any size community outreach plan.
We have created bright and inviting visuals that you can use to accompany your voter communications and boost your visibility. These visuals come in a variety of sizes, and can be used for social media, print ads, flyers, posters and more. To use this toolkit, you do not need any programs beyond Microsoft Word or a similar text-editor. Files are also available to download in .ai, .jpg, and .pdf formats if desired.
We understand that each jurisdiction has differing variables that need to be taken into account for your voters. Below, we’ve included more specific examples of ways to speak on topics you will likely need to inform your voters about. The topics include spaces for you to customize the information specific to your jurisdiction. You can use this content in our editable flyers, or in other places you are communicating with voters, such as your website or ballot inserts.
A marketing or communications plan creates cohesion, and gives you a strategy for how you are talking to voters. Similar to how you sequence your order of operations for administration, your marketing plan is your order of operations for communication to voters.
You asked, and we delivered. Elections Officials have been asking for a Myth-Busting fact sheet to help combat mis-information online. Helping voters cut through the noise and get the facts about voting at home has never been more important.
Our New Communications Content Calendar is officially live! With this calendar, we provide you with day by day suggestions of what to post on social media each day between now and the election. It also has fresh, ready-to-go content covering: early voting, provisional ballots, drop-boxes and results reporting.
We’ve also included customizable graphics so you can add whatever details or information you need to make it unique to your community.
You can also download individual pieces from the toolkit below depending on your need.
This is for election officials with little to no communications capacity – This toolkit offers “ready to go” visuals and language for you to plug directly into the communications outlets that you have available to you. For this toolkit, you will be able to just add the dates, websites, and relevant contact info. After that, the tools are ready to use.
DownloadThis is for election officials with small to moderate internal capacity – Election offices that probably have at least 1 staff member fully focused on voter communications. You will likely either use the language and visuals as-is or will customize the language and visuals using the guidance offered.
DownloadThis is for election officials who are well resourced – Election offices that have at least 1 staff member fully focused on voter communications, as well as funding for a vendor and/or marketing budget. You will likely use the toolkit as a primer/example for your vendor to create something tailored to your jurisdiction.
DownloadWe’ve added new additions the toolkit based on feedback from Elections Officials across the country. These new features include: Spanish language graphics, A customizable infographic, and a video you can share on social media. Here you can access the folder with all the new and old materials!
DownloadA podcast by elections officials, interviewing elections officials? Sounds great to us! Check out ... @HighTurnout's latest episode with MVP EO @TinaLBarton - and stay tuned for future episodes with our very own @AmberMcReynolds as well!
Happy Thursday! Curious about Michigan elections (especially in 2020)? Our episode with @TinaLBarton is out now https://anchor.fm/highturnoutwidemargins/episodes/Michigan-2020-with-Tina-Barton-eolc53
