Kanu Hawaii - 2012 Voter Registration & Engagement Project

Preliminary Report 2012 Your Vision Your Vote

Disappointed People* cynical* don’t vote* hate politics* don’t pay attention

Disappointing Politics* $ and connections* personal loyalties* polarized, blameful* no accountability

1 . Gather voices2. Expand the vote3. Info for accountability

1. We engaged voters by asking what matters to them

Volunteers knocked on more than 1,800 doors in low-turnout areas of the Waianae Coast, Windward Oahu, Waimanalo, and lower Manoa and reached out friend-to-friend online to ask “What’s most important to you this election year?”

1. We engaged voters by asking what matters to them

Kaneohe Waianae

Manoa Kailua

We compiled the results and used them in graphic form (the “issue clouds” below) to draft candidate questionnaires that spoke to the priorities of residents.

2. We worked to register voters in areas with low turnout

We registered voters by making presentations in classrooms of college campuses (UH Manoa and Community Colleges), tabling at community events and outside supermarkets and farmers’ markets, and registering people at the door.

3. We put elections info into new, engaging formatsWe put information on candidates and elections into new formats: simple candidate look-up tool; candidate guide in game format; issues and voter info as Infographics, shared this content friend-to-friend online and via social media.

The “Candidate Game” compared side-by-side candidate answers to the same question, without telling you who said what. You picked which answer you liked better, and at the end, the game revealed whose answers you liked best.

3. We put elections info into new, engaging formats

Waianae-Nanakuli

–Those Kanu engaged: 86% turnout Absentee Ballot: 56%

–Precinct-wide: 49% turnout Absentee Ballot: 35%

University-Manoa

–Those Kanu engaged: 88% turnout Absentee Ballot: 66%

–Precinct-wide: 58% turnout Absentee Ballot: 47%

Waimanalo

–Those Kanu engaged: 90% turnout* Absentee Ballot: 41%*

–Precinct-wide: 57% turnout Absentee Ballot: 35%

* Use with caution as Waimanalo had a relatively small sample size.

Results: Engagement by the numbers

●1,860 doors knocked; 106 presentations; 27 tabling venues

●2,657 new voters registered, concentrated in low-turnout areas

●3,223 people provided input on questions for candidates

●2,000+ avg daily unique visits to the site during 3 weeks

●26,000 total unique visitors to the site during elections period

…achieved with 40 volunteers, info in new formats and channels, and $15,000 for printing, supplies, food for volunteers.

- compared to -

…average campaign for State House District with turnout of 7,000 voters is $30-$40,000.

Results: Engagement by the numbers

“I've been seeing the effects of Kanu's work all over the state and on Social Media. I will be doing a presentation at my alma mater to high school juniors and seniors about the importance of voting, and my experiences this past year. I want to be able to provide the student with opportunities to get involved during the next election cycle in 2014. Are there any ways students can begin to be prepared for the next election cycle through Kanu?”

- Tony H, Waianae (UH Manoa Sophomore)

“This candidate info was very informative as I had no idea what the candidate's opinions were or even what their names were. The questions were broad enough to understand where each person came from. I "found" my candidate. I posted the entry site of Kanu on facebook. Good job, just want to give you feed back.”

- Gina H, Honolulu

“For the first time in recent memory I voted outside of my political party. After playing the game and reading the answers, I just could not bring myself to vote for the candidate [in my Party].”

- Former State Representative

The most important outcome: practicing leadershippractice engaging our community and campaigning independent of money