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How Outreach and Deep Canvassing Can Change Rural Politics

Amanda Abrams

November 22, 2021 |

Yes! Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, North Carolina

Down Home North Carolina is a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote group that practices “deep canvassing” in rural areas to increase voter participation and elect progressive candidates. The technique involves one-on-one conversations that aim to connect on an emotional level, as a way to find common ground, and involves active listening to people and their concerns. Canvassers go door-to-door, and conduct outreach in public areas like Walmart and food banks, (though COVID-19 moved conversations to the phone) and particularly aim to connect with people who haven’t been engaged in the political process before.

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Armed with pamphlets: the battle to register women voters in Libya

Hendia Alashepy

October 29, 2021 |

The National |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Libya

Libya’s Electoral Outreach Ambassadors program aims to increase women’s trust in the political process and register new voters. The female ambassadors are experienced in civil society participation but are not affiliated with any political or religious group, which is key to building trust given the country’s recent civil war. Ambassadors are trained in many tactics and left to tailor their own strategy so that it is best suited for their own district. Outreach efforts include a combination of house visits, workshops in private and public institutions, and talks with women in public spaces.

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Why bother? Greater Cleveland's youth rise to the task of local civic engagement

Michael Indriolo

October 05, 2021 |

The Land |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland high school students created votecle.com, a website that centralizes information about local elections. A political alignment survey on the site assesses users’ opinions on important political issues to match them with local candidates. The group focuses outreach on drop-off voters, people who reliably vote in national elections but not local ones. These voters tend to be younger, on average, and cite a lack of information about local candidates and issues as the main reason for not voting. After creating the website, the group got a grant from Cleveland Votes to continue engaging young voters.

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Surprising Data Shows Political Letter-Writing Still Gets Out the Vote

Philip Elliott

October 01, 2021 |

Time Magazine |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Vote Forward, an apolitical non-profit organization aimed at turning out voters, coordinated more than 50 partner organizations to boost turnout in the 2020 election through a letter-writing campaign. The letters were largely non-partisan, with letter writers encouraging people to vote rather than asking them to vote for a particular candidate. The low-cost, low-pressure tactic also brought in many first-time volunteers, with over 200,000 people writing letters. Organizers consider the campaign to be very successful, translating to about 126,000 votes in 21 states, or one percentage point nationwide.

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California's new vote-by-mail system is a big win for marginalized groups

Umme Hoque

September 29, 2021 |

Prism |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, California

A new California law makes universal mail-in voting permanent after it was temporarily adopted for the 2020 election in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Expansion of mail-in voting in 2020 resulted in higher voter turnout, especially among low-income and communities of color. Moving forward, all voters will receive a ballot in the mail 29 days before each election. Voters can fill out their ballot, return it using a prepaid envelope or drop it in a secure drop box, and track in transit online. They also still have the choice to vote in person.

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Many in Jail Can Vote, but Exercising That Right Isn't Easy

Matt Vasilogambros

July 16, 2021 |

Stateline |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago's Cook County Jail enabled 2,200 incarcerated people to vote in the November 2020 election by opening the jail to voter registration drives, civic lessons, distribution of voter education materials, two weekends of early voting, and four polling places inside the jail. Most people held in local jails nationwide are eligible to vote but usually don't, due to lack of awareness, intentional barriers, and logistical hassles. Cook County helped people exercise their rights and provided them with education to improve their reentry to society after prison.

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Millions of People With Felonies Can Now Vote. Most Don't Know It.

Nicole Lewis Andrew Rodriguez Calderón

June 23, 2021 |

The Marshall Project |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Nevada

Thirteen states restored the right to vote to millions of formerly incarcerated people in the years leading up to the 2020 elections. An analysis of four of them—Nevada, Kentucky, Iowa, and New Jersey—shows the new rights were rarely exercised, ranging from 4% to 23% of newly eligible voters actually registering. None of the four states required prison, parole, or elections officials to notify eligible voters. Those and other information gaps and barriers teach instructive lessons as the 2022 elections approach.

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For Black Voters Matter, the goal is greater community power

Haleluya Hadero

June 02, 2021 |

Associated Press |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Georgia

Black Voters Matter raises money to support organizations and initiatives that are often too small for institutional funders to notice. The group has given millions to community-based groups in 15 states—mostly in the South—to register voters, canvass neighborhoods with voting-related information, run phone banks, and even rent buses to drive people to the polls. They’ve raised tens of millions of dollars, mostly in small donations from about 90,000 unique donors. The group, who seeks to strengthen organizations for the long run, also funds activities like free grocery distribution for those in need.

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‘Blind date' for political rivals? TV show is breaking down barriers.

Sara Miller Llana

May 05, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada

The Canadian reality show, “Political Blind Date,” pairs two politicians from opposing sides to spend two days together visiting each other’s constituents and wrestling with difficult issues. Fifty politicians have participated over five seasons, averaging about 195,000 viewers per episode. The aim is not to get them to change their minds, but to humanize people with opposing political beliefs and break down the increasingly common ‘us versus them’ mindset in politics. Advocates say that this has a “trickle down” effect on viewers forging greater understanding and more respectful debate.

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Can “democracy dollars” keep real dollars out of politics?

Julia Hotz

April 28, 2021 |

MIT Technology Review |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Democracy Vouchers, a tax-payer-funded program that sends four $25 certificates to residents to donate to local candidates, made Seattle the national leader by increasing the percent of the electorate donating to local campaigns to nearly 8%. They also allow more non-establishment candidates, who lack connections to wealthy donors, to run for office. Four of the nine 2019 city council candidates used vouchers to help fund their campaigns and the vouchers are being expanded to the city’s mayoral races. A national pilot program was also approved to try vouchers for congressional candidates in three states.

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