DFA Campaign Academy Field Planning...

Field Organizing

Paid for by Democracy for America,

www.democracyforamerica.com, and not

authorized by any candidate or

candidate’s committee.

Your Blueprint for Victory

Contains your campaign’s Goals and

the Strategies, Tactics, Timelines,

and Benchmarks to achieve them

Person to person voter contact

• Delivers a campaign’s message to

2

• Delivers a campaign’s message to

targeted voters

• Tactics: Canvass, phone calls, mail

literature drops, etc.

Builds a grassroots volunteer base

A strong FieldOrganization can helpyou gain between 3-5%

on election day.

What’s Your Win Number?

Step 1: Project the turnout:

Step 2: Set Your Goals

% Turnout in last similar election(s)

Current number of registered voters

xProjected

Turnout=

3

Win Number = (Projected Turnout / 2) + 1

Vote Goal = Projected Turnout x .52

Step 2: Set Your Goals

Step 3: Write them down!

Targeting Your Resources

Why target?• Limited People, Money & Time

• Gets the right message to the right voters

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3 Ways to Target Voters• Geographically

• Voter History & Identification

• Constituencies

Research Suggestions• Secretary of State • County Elections Board

• Party Voter File

• NCEC

• US Census data

Calculate Your Vote Goals

Current

Registration

Turnout %

in last

similar election

Turnout

Estimate

for current

election

Win

Number

=

50% + 1

Vote

Goal

=

52%

Precinct # 1 740 32%


Precinct # 3 463 51%Precinct # 3 463 51%



Precinct # 6 1,002 48%

District

Totals3,936 44%

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Democratic Performance Index

‘Percentage of the vote an average Dem can

expect in an average election’� Based on voting history NOT voter registration

How to calculate D.P.I

{ }

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How to calculate D.P.I

About NCEC

Democratic % in similar election # 1

+ Democratic % in similar election # 2

+ Democratic % in similar election # 3

/ 3 = D.P.I.{ }

Dem

Performance

%

Est.

Dem.

Turnout

Vote

Difference

Persuasion

%

Swing

Voters

Precinct # 1 69% 12%

Precinct # 2 21% 8%

Precinct # 336% 33%

Precinct # 336% 33%



Precinct # 648% 21%

District

Totals43% 22%

Final Vote

Goal

Persuasion

RankingGOTV Ranking

Precinct # 1

Precinct # 2

Precinct # 3Precinct # 3

Precinct # 4

Precinct # 5

Precinct # 6

District

Totals

Field Targeting Strategies

DEM BASE PRECINCTS- D.P.I. = greater than 65%- Identification, voter registration, volunteer recruitment, GOTV

REPUBLICAN BASE PRECINCTS- D.P.I. = less than 35%

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- D.P.I. = less than 35%

- Lowest priority, highly targeted contact only

SWING PRECINCTS - D.P.I. = between 35% and 65%

- Identification, Persuasion & GOTV

Targeting with Voter History

Voter Contact Priorities

A. Undecideds likely to Vote (ID, Persuasion)

B. Supporters less likely to vote (ID, GOTV)

FADAlways Vote

(4x4)

Strong Opponent

(5)

Undecided

(2, 3, 4)

Strong Supporter

(1)

Partisanship ID

Vo

tin

g H

isto

ry

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(ID, GOTV)

C. Undecideds less likely to vote (ID, Persuasion, GOTV)

D. Supporters likely to vote (Base building)

FEENever Vote

(0x4)

FC

Persuasion #2

B

Sometimes Vote

(2x4)

(0x0)

FAPersuasion

DBase

(4x4)

Vo

tin

g H

isto

ry

Look at your candidate and message

Meet with community leaders early

Build bases of support

Targeting with Constituencies

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Seek endorsements

Target niche media

Conversations win Elections

Phone Calls & Canvassing:• Deliver a campaign’s message

to targeted voters in a personable way

• Give the campaign valuable information about the voter’s

Voter Preference Targeting

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information about the voter’s preferences

• Allow for a targeted field campaign

Yard signs belong in Yards,

NOT street corners

Canvassing

Know your turf

Prepare your canvass

Packets

Train your volunteers

Sample Canvass Packet� Scripts � Walksheets � Maps� Campaign Lit� Candidate FAQ� Goodie bags (food, water,

stickers, etc)

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Train your volunteers

� Provide ‘context’

� Explain the Canvass Packet Materials

� Review scripts, responses and coding instructions

� Role Plays!

stickers, etc)

Phonebanks

Your most versatile voter contact tactic

• High number of contacts

• Two way communication

Ideal for voter identification, persuasion, & GOTV

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Drawbacks:Lower impact than canvassing

Increasingly difficult to reach voters

Direct Mail

Highly targeted persuasion & GOTV tactic

Once you start, you cannot go dark

Stick with an interesting & repetitive message

Know your production, shipping & delivery

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Know your production, shipping & delivery timelines

Drawbacks:Lower impact than canvass, phonesNo info back from voters Expensive

Yard Signs and Visibility

Shows supporters and donors your support base

Reminds supporters of their support

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Reminds supporters of their support

No more than 1% of budget spent on visibility

Drawbacks:

Signs don’t vote (just ask Ron Paul)

Often overemphasized at expense of more effective tactics

Paid Media

Powerful persuasion tactic when done right

Once you start you cannot go dark

Widespread exposure to electorate

Can be targeted by Demographics

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Can be targeted by Demographics

Drawbacks:

Lower impact than canvass, phones

No info back from voters

Very expensive

Time consuming

Timelines & Benchmarks

1) Start from your goal (Election Day)

and work backwards

2) Identify Your Timeline and

Strategies

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Strategies

3) List your tactics & set benchmarks

4) Revise and Update

Setting Benchmarks &

Metrics

Identify Your Key Metrics# of voters contacted# of supporters identified# of early vote applications (if applicable)

Identify Your Contact Metrics

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Identify Your Contact Metrics% of attempts with contacts (50% standard)# of calls/doors per hour (10-15 standard)% of Supporters / Undecideds / Opposes (30% / 40% / 30% standard)

Stick with numbers – Can you reach your goals?

Your early warning system – Are you on track?

DFA Campaign Academy Field Planning...

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