anactivistshowtoguide-blog

[anactivistshowtoguide-blog]

How to organize a voter registration drive

1. Educate yourself. 

- What are the voter laws in your state? Are you allowed to register to vote the day of? Can you register a minor if he or she will be 18 by voting day? This is your voter registration drive. When people have questions, they’ll expect you to have the answers. You don’t have to know everything, but give it a few drives and you’ll know these policies by heart. 

2. Location. Where do you want to table? 

- Some of the best places to organize a voter registration drive are public libraries, high schools, colleges, community centers, festivals, tabling for parades, etc. 

- Coordinate with the person in charge. You obviously need to have permission to table. In my experience, people are really friendly and look forward to having someone register folks at their libraries or schools. (If it’s a college, this person is usually the Dean of Student Affairs.) Literally just google the location/ business you’d like to table for, call, then schedule. I’d ease into it in the beginning. Start with 2-4 hour drives so you don’t reach burnout early on. 

- Wherever the location, try to set up near vending machines, bathrooms, or drinking fountains. You want a high volume area. 

3. What to bring?

- A sign indicating that you’re registering people to vote, a tablecloth, plenty of pens, and a table. One might be provided, but you’re an organizer now so you might as well invest in a foldable table. 

- Voter registration forms. You can usually get these at the Secretary of State’s office, your county clerk’s office, activist friends usually have tons.  It’s a good idea to have a completed form on hand to serve as an example for when people get confused. Highlight the sections most commonly filled out so it’s easier on the eyes. 

- Bring free stuff! People are way likelier to stop at your table if you lure them in with free candy, stickers, and/ or buttons. That’s when you hit them with, “Are you registered to vote?” 

- Consider inviting a friend or two to join you. Not going to lie, it gets pretty boring. Take advantage of some downtime and do homework or write a blog no one will ever read. 

- You don’t usually need to take extra forms when tabling at other events at the capitol because I guarantee every other org there will have a few on hand. 

4. I finished a drive. Now what?

- Seal your forms and mail them. If you’re tabling for an organization, they’ll most likely want you to enter the voter’s info into a spreadsheet the org owns. This is usually referenced when other elections are taking place and a voter is unaware. The org will then have the voter’s info on hand and remind of him or her of said election. 

Some people are nice, some aren’t. It has nothing to do with you, so just smile and move on. In my personal experience, being genuinely kind and listening to what other people want to tell you, a nice stranger just trying to get people to vote, goes a long way. Be fruitful and organize!

[anactivistshowtoguide-blog]

How to plan an event at your state’s capitol

1. Organize.

- What’s the vision you want for your event? 

- Pick a date and time. You want a day and time that’ll work for your partner orgs and locals. 

- How many speakers do you want? (I’d say a minimum of three, but that’s just what’s worked for me.) 

- All of the organizations you’ll be working with will have tables set up at your event, so make sure you have enough or they know to bring their own. 

- Are you going to want music? You’ll need speakers, mics, outlets. (You’re going to need a mic or megaphone either way.)

- What time will all the orgs meet at the capitol to set up? (15 min. before the event begins usually works fine.)

- You will need cases of water, a table cloth, signs, tape, handouts explaining your mission, and giving background.

- Wear your org’s t-shirt so people know who you’re with

- Artistic expression? I’ve collaborated with local poets and artists. This adds a really heavy emotional impact to your event (as long as it’s on theme). You want to drive the “Call to Action” home and art really helps draw that out in people. 

2. Contact local organizations that champion what you’re wanting to bring attention to. Ex. local Indivisible chapter, Planned Parenthood, Human Rights Campaign, sometimes even your county clerk. Networking and making these connections is vital because you will not be able to do this alone. (Expect to allot time for them to speak about their orgs and mission.)

3. Get permits to allot a day you’ll be gathering and so police and officials will know. The way I’ve gone about this is contacting members of the local state legislature then they hook it up. I usually ask for help from others with this step, so reach out to your partner orgs! 

4. Social media. If this is a long term project (like starting a local chapter for your organization) consider starting a Facebook and Instagram page. If this is your goal, you want to put your org on the map and an event can help with that. If this event is a one-time thing for you, publish it on your own social media accounts and make sure you bug your partner orgs about posting your event online. 

- Create a flyer design. If you’re not artistically inclined, reach out for help! Can’t find anyone to help with this? You can make a flyer on Google Docs but my go-to is usually Pages because I prefer the layouts. 

- You’ll need physical and digital copies. I keep a list of all the places I put up physical flyers so I don’t have to find new places. This step is really time-consuming and tedious, but well worth it. 

- Create a Facebook event, make sure to include your partner orgs, and invite everyone you know! 

- Invite local representatives from both sides of the aisle. This could bring more attention to your event AND entice local news outlets to join you as well. 

- Consider inviting news media outlets. Their job is to report local news and your event is just that. 

- Contact your local Dem or Rep party. They’re a resource, USE THEM! 

5. End every event you ever organize with a Call to Action. You got people to attend your event, now get them involved. You’ll need a sign-up sheet to get their contact info.

These are just a few tips and ideas I wish someone would’ve shared with me when I was a beginner organizer (this list isn’t holistic at all). You’ll make mistakes and they’ll be really silly like you forgot to email the itinerary to everyone (you may not even need one) or forgot to include the time on your flyers. Organizing is tough and you don’t get to see rewards immediately but it’s so worth getting to help and educate others. Organizers are some of the best and most genuine people I’ve ever met, so you’re bound to make some powerful and long-lasting connections with people you meet along the way. Happy organizing!