Field planning slides

Field Planning

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and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s

committee.

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Your Blueprint for Victory

Contains your campaign’s Goals, Strategies, Tactics, Timelines, and Benchmarks to achieve them.

Person to person voter contactDelivers a campaign’s message to

targeted voters

Tactics: Canvass, phone calls, house parties, mail literature drops, etc.

Requires a grassroots volunteer base

A strong FieldOrganization can help

you gain between 3-5%on election day.

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Targeting Your Resources

Why target?

Limited People, Money & TimeGets the right message to the right voters

3 Ways to Target Voters

GeographicallyVoter History & IdentificationConstituencies & Demographics

Research Suggestions• Secretary of State • County Elections Board• Party Voter File • NCEC• US Census data

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Targeting with Voter History

Voter Contact PrioritiesA. Undecideds likely to Vote

(ID, Persuasion)

B. Supporters less likely to vote

(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

Always Vote (4x4)

Strong Opponent

(5)

Undecided (2, 3, 4)

Strong Supporter

(1)

Partisanship ID

Vot

ing

His

tory

Targeted Field PlanAll Registered Voters

Target Universe of Voters

Supporters (1’s) Undecided (2,3’s) Haters (4,5’s)

Persuasion (2,3,4’s)

GOTV Universe

Likely Supporters Not ID’d

No More Contact

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Step 1: Project the turnout:

Win Number = (Projected Turnout / 2) + 1Vote Goal = Projected Turnout x .52

Step 2: Set Your Goals

Step 3: Write them down!

% Turnout in last similar election(s)

Current number of registered votersx

Projected

Turnout=

What’s Your Win Number?

Calculate Your Vote Goals

Current Registrati

on

Turnout % in last similar election

Turnout Estimate

for current

election

Win

Number 50% +

1

Safe Margin 52%

Precinct # 1 740 32%

Precinct # 2 446 55%

Precinct # 3 463 51%

Precinct # 4 599 43%

Precinct # 5 686 42%

Precinct # 6 1002 48%

DistrictTotals

3936 44%

6

237

246

237

258

289

481

1748

120 124

124 128

120 124

130 135

146 151

242 251

882 913

NOTE: Always round up for turnout estimates – even with “.1” You’ll always need a full person’s vote – a fraction of a person can’t vote. It’s safer to make it harder on yourself.

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Democratic Performance Index‘Percentage of the vote a Democratic candidate can expect in an average election’

Based on voting history NOT voter registration

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.{ }

 D.P.I. %

Est. Dem. Turnout

Vote Difference

Persuasion %

Persuadable Voters

Precinct # 1

69% 12%

Precinct # 2

21% 8%

Precinct # 3

36% 33%

Precinct # 4

43% 19%

Precinct # 5

38% 39%

Precinct # 6 48% 21%

DistrictTotals

43% 22%

Calculate Your Dem & Persuasion Turnout

163 +39 28

-77 19

-39 78

-25 49-42 112

-21 101

-165 382

51

85

110109

230

748

NOTE: You’ll want to round down for Est. Dem turnout and persuadable voters. Again, you want to make it harder on yourself.

Final Vote GoalsPersuasion

& ID Ranking

GOTV Ranking

Precinct # 1

Precinct # 2

Precinct # 3

Precinct # 4

Precinct # 5

Precinct # 6

DistrictTotals

Calculate Your Final Vote Goals & Rankings

198

54

109

121

147

284

913

2nd

1st

3rd

4th

5th

6th

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

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Prioritize Your Precincts

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

REPUBLICAN BASE PRECINCTS- D.P.I. = less than 35%- Lowest priority, highly targeted contact only

SWING PRECINCTS - D.P.I. = between 35% and 65%- Identification, Persuasion & GOTV

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Look at your candidate and message

Look at your identified supporters

Meet with community leaders early

Build bases of support

Seek endorsements

Target niche media

Targeting with Constituencies

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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 preferences Allow for a targeted field campaign

Yard signs belong in Yards, NOT street corners

Voter Preference Targeting

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CanvassingKnow your turf

Prepare your canvassPackets

Train your volunteers•Provide ‘context’•Explain the Canvass Packet Materials•Review scripts, responses and coding•Role Plays!

Sample Canvass Packet• Scripts • Walksheets • Maps• Campaign Lit• Candidate FAQ• Goodie bags (food, water, stickers, etc)

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PhonebanksYour most versatile voter contact tactic

High number of contactsTwo way communication

Ideal for voter identification, persuasion, & GOTV

Drawbacks:Lower impact than canvassingIncreasingly difficult to reach voters

15

Direct MailHighly targeted persuasion & GOTV tactic

Once you start, you cannot go dark

Stick with an interesting & repetitive message

Know your production, shipping & delivery timelines

Drawbacks:

Lower impact than canvass, phonesNo info back from voters Expensive

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Yard Signs and Visibility

Shows supporters and donors your support baseReminds supporters of their supportNo more than 1% of budget spent on visibility

Drawbacks: Signs don’t vote Often overemphasized at expense of more effective tactics

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Timelines & Benchmarks

Start from your goal (Election Day) and plan backwards - how do you get there?

Identify Your Timeline and Strategies

List your tactics & set benchmarks

Revise and Update

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

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?