Field organizing involves direct association with the voters to educate and prepare them for the goals of your campaign. It works at the grass-root level to identify potential supporters and turn them into dedicated voters. For campaign consultants, field organizing plays a critical role in campaign strategy as it brings a personal approach.

Field organizing typically is carried out throughout the campaign cycle but is the most focussed on during the final GOTV (Get Out The Vote) phase. It typically involves tactics including phone banking, door-to-door canvassing, and campaign rallies. Direct mail programs, robocalling, and TV or Radio adverts may also feature as a part of field organizing. The Field Director calls the shot, and the organizing staff assists in these efforts. 

The initial steps to be followed are

  • Calculate the expected votes

The main goal of political campaign strategies is to ensure that they secure over 50 % of the votes cast on Election Day for their clients. So the first step towards this goal would be to calculate the number of votes you need to win. Your win number can be determined by the number of voters expected to turn out and vote in your favor. Campaign strategists determine the expected turnout by calculating the average turnout from the past three similar elections. Besides this, considering community, growth trends, and demographic shifts is important to arrive at the precise final number. 

  • Target the right voters

Once the winning number is calculated, the campaign field organizer would evaluate which voters they must focus their energy on to reach the desired target. For any political race, it is impossible to contact the entire voting fraternity; thus, a political campaign field organizer must target the voters who would provide maximum return utilizing the least resources to turn out for voting on Election Day. 

Voters can be divided into two categories: partisanship and turnout. Using past voting data from voter files, a campaign field organizer can determine how many voters within their territory fall into each category. These numbers would suggest which voters deserve more focus to reach the winning number and what types of resources the campaign should invest in.

Since the winning number is calculated, next in line comes planning a voter contact strategy. You will need to put together a strategy to contact and activate the voters to hit the target votes. The tactics that the political field organizer can deploy would depend on the campaign budget, demographic considerations, and geographical constraints. 

A few ways to achieve the same are

  • Door to door campaign

Although canvassing door-to-door is the most effective campaigning method to contact voters, it eats up a lot of time and resources. When you meet voters one-to-one, in person, the conversation about the candidate becomes more effective. It persuades and motivates a voter, providing immediate feedback to the campaign consultant. When the target voter population is smaller, the candidate themselves can go door-to-door to meet the voters. This conversation can help the candidate to build their name and garner community support.

Volunteer canvasses are very work-intensive; thus building a bond with the volunteers at the start of the campaign cycle is a must. You need to show your gratitude towards the volunteers; they need to feel that you value their time and contribution to the campaign. Quality feedback from the volunteers can go a long way in making the campaign a success. When they go out for canvassing, their experience must be smooth and fun. The campaign consultants must check out with them once they return from the canvassing.

  • Phone Calls

When you want to maintain one-to-one contact, but wish to cut down on the expense, using phones is a great way for voter contact. Not only does it lower cost, but it also helps the campaign to establish a connection with a large voter group in a relatively small amount of time. It can be used for recruiting volunteers, contacting supporters for events, persuading voters, etc. Once you know the number of phone calls that will need to be made to reach your voter contact goals, decide on the most efficient way for its execution. One option is to use the volunteer program that uses the traditional phone banking methodology, and the other option is to use a paid service like robocalls.

Volunteer phone banks are the most cost-effective and personalized way to make phone calls as compared to paid call tools. However, they tend to be very labor-intensive and are less reliable. For the best campaign management results, use a combination of more than one method.

  • Direct Mail

With direct mail, campaigns can communicate with a huge audience residing in different geographical areas. More than television and radio ads, direct mail is the most targeted voter contact strategy to reach a specific voter group. By sending a series of mail, it can be used for repeated contact and to build on your message over time. There has to be consistency in the message spread through direct mail and other tactics so that the voters can get a unanimous message about the campaign goals.

  • Rallies and Events

Through rallies and events, you can get your candidate directly in front of the voters. It is important to remember that the enthusiasm the voters feel in the moment must be converted into action for the campaign. Registering the attendee’s contact information on arrival helps to reach out to them afterward. It helps to continue the campaign, by persuading them to volunteer or ask them to vote. Strategically, the best time to organize a rally is towards the end of the campaign.

Conclusion

During the last days of the campaign, the ultimate focus is to get the voters to the polling booth. Targeting those who may not support or those who are sure to support is a waste of time. GOTV efforts should focus on inconsistent voters who may have been identified as supporters. The campaign consultants need to build a solid foundation of organizing a base coupled with constant voter communication. With GOTV you can now push the campaign successfully to the finish line. 

Third Coast Strategies can help to lead your campaign to victory!