DPO 2018 Local Elections Project:County Training Webinar

February 8th, 2018

2018 Local Elections Project Contacts

• Ron Morgan (ron@dpo.org): Political Organizing Coordinator.

• Brad Martin (brad@dpo.org): Executive Director.

• Mario Parker-Milligan (mario@dpo.org): Constituency Organizing Coordinator.

• Katie Drumm (katie@dpo.org): Development Director.

• Josh Latto (josh@dpo.org): Technology Director.

• Molly Woon (molly@dpo.org): Communications Director.

DPO 2018 Local Elections ProjectOverview

The DPO Local Elections Project is a training program

to help county parties and Democratic candidates win

races for local, non-partisan offices.

Since 2013 the DPO Local Election Project has

• Trained over 460 Democratic leaders in 24 counties• Supported 279 campaigns • Helped elect 188 Democrats to office • Many candidates were in their very first race!

DPO 2018 Local Elections ProjectOverview

Since 2013 the DPO Local Election Project has

• Uploaded over 25 LEP training videos• User name: democrat, password: traininghttp://dpo.org/private/training-materials

• Training for County Parties: this webinar• Training for ALL candidates

March 24th, 11 – 6, Salem

DPO 2018 Local Elections ProjectToday’s Webinar

Today’s webinar is a boot camp! 26 DAYS!Introductions to all aspects of program from Brad, Mario, Ron, Katie, Josh, and Molly

– Candidate Recruitment

– Campaign Toolkit

– Fundraising

– Creating a voter contact program and voter file overview

– Creating a county Communications Plan

– Election Protection

– Feedback

DPO 2018 Local Elections ProjectTimelines

• LEP County Party opt-in deadline, March 1st

• Voter File Webinar by Josh Latto

– TBD

• Campaign Boot Camp for Candidates, staff and supporters

– Saturday, Mar 24th, 11 am – 6 pm, Marion County Dems office

• Ongoing Coaching and Mentoring

County Party Opt In

Opting In Means You Agree to:

• Provide a contact liaison (chair/vice chair or other designee)

• Identify positions to target for May 15th elections

• Recruit candidates for identified positions

• Provide small amount of seed money to each candidate recruited (we will provide direction!)

• Encourage candidates to attend DPO candidate trainings

Local Elections Matter!

To participate:

• County parties must opt in by March 1st

• County party chairs, register atwww.dpo.org/local-elections-project

Questions?

• Email: ron@dpo.org

Candidate RecruitmentBrad Martin

Candidate

Recruitment

Bootcamp

Candidate RecruitmentBrad Martin

Targeted OfficesKnow the Job Descriptions

History

and Benefits

Candidate RecruitmentBrad Martin

Be Strategic

in

Your Targets

Your Plan

&

Your Campaigns

Candidate RecruitmentBrad Martin

• Build your candidate recruitment team – small & smart is best

• Make a simple plan…and put it on a timeline/calendar – March 6 deadline

• Create a “legacy notebook” for your CDCC…and the future

Candidate RecruitmentBrad Martin

Top 10 Steps

– March 6 deadline – 26 days

1. Form a committee w/political team & allies

2. Get a district map & review LEP spreadsheets

3. Pick a secretary, profile & target districts

4. Brainstorm names – diverse & varied

5. Figure out best approach for each prospect

Candidate RecruitmentBrad Martin

Top 10 Steps

6. Prioritize asks & set deadlines for asking

7. Meet with prospects – be organized - lay out reasons, your assets and deadlines

8. Close the deal

9. Bird dog ALL the forms and paperwork (VIP)

10. Help your candidate with support, funds and building a team.

1. Form a Committee with Political Team & Allies

• Small, smart and diverse:

–Central Committee Politicos

–Union and Allied leaders

–Former Officeholders…who ran tough campaigns

• Connected…

2. Get a District Map & Review LEP spreadsheets

• Pick your targets

• Know how to describe the opportunity district numbers…simply...and a path to victory

3. Pick a Secretary & Profile Target Districts

• Hold first meeting

• Pick a Secretary who will record key information, ideas and potential candidates to build a recruitment “legacy notebook”…not minutes

3. Pick a Secretary & Profile Target Districts

• Talk through each district and what it’s profile is…

– Numbers

– Geography and demographics

– Political history and allies on the ground

– Current/past officeholders

– Major institutions…

– and the profile of a Good Candidate

4. Brainstorm Names

• Brainstorm – all names are good, none eliminated - diverse & varied

• Have an advocate(s) talk about each potential candidate, their strengths, and how they might win

• Go back through list – talk out weaknesses

5. Figure out Best Approach for Each Prospect

• Talk about best approach and

• Who would make best approach to each potential candidate

• Then…

6. Prioritize Asks & Set Deadlines for Asking

• Prioritize your asks, who first, second…and maybe third

• Assign each ask – be smart - and review the ask – role play

• Set deadline for each ask

• Get going

7. Meet with Prospects

• Individually or in small groups – with friends

• Review the office, duties, importance and benefits

• Their strengths and why your asking

• Path to victory and strategy

• How you’ll back them

• Questions

• Deadlines…and other candidates

8. Close the Deal

• The potential candidate is interested…

• Determine a path to yes – questions to be answered, other calls/encouragement they should get

• Hold to the Deadline:

– If Yes – get rolling

– If Maybe – move on

– If No….into the Legacy Notebook

9. Bird Dog ALL the Forms and Paperwork (VIP)

• Have a list

• Check it again and again

• …until done

10. Back your Candidate with Support, Funds and a Team

• Book them for training – now

– both on line videos

– and in person - Saturday, March 24 in Salem

• Raise their seed money

• Help them build a team

• Promote their candidacy

• Contact and turnout the vote

The Best Pitch

• Serious, thoughtful, organized -

–Review the office, duties, importance and benefits

–Their strengths and why your asking

–Path to victory and strategy

–How you’ll back them

–Questions

–Deadlines…and other candidates

Moving Beyond The Status Quo:

Non Traditional Candidates, Diversity, and Representation in Elected Offices

National Representation

Another View of National Representation

Oregon

Why These Communities Don’t Run

• Economics – Wage gaps, families, community responsibilities

• Fundraising – We enter public service w/o financial networks

• Lived Lives – We have been told our experiences don’t belong

• Self-Selection – Internalized Oppression, confidence, models

• Networks – Institutional racism and implicit bias

• Exclusionary Pipelines – Not built with us or for us

Why These Communities Matter

• White Men Hold 4 Times the Political Power of Women and People of Color

• Government is improved with US

• Issues, Voices, Solutions

• Solidarity

• Being the Hero/ Representation THEY needed

Practical Applications in the Field

• Know your role

• Understand the Network

– Emerge Oregon

– ColorPAC

– Acción Política PCUNista (APP)

– Run For Something

– Can You Not

– Many many more

Campaign Toolkit: Assets that will help you recruitRon Morgan

Your County Party’s Campaign Toolkit

• A campaign toolkit will help you recruit better candidates… if you promote it

• Some resources in the toolkit you create, some the DPO creates

Campaign Toolkit: Assets that will help you recruitRon Morgan

County Party Toolkit

• Voter file authorization (VAN)

• Slate Cards

• Canvassing programs (NLP and others)

• Access to volunteers

• Office space

• Communications to amplify candidate messaging

Campaign Toolkit: Assets that will help you recruitRon Morgan

DPO Campaign Toolkit

• The LEP Spreadsheet

• Trainings!

– March 24th, 11 am – 6 pm, Marion County Dems

– VAN training

– Mentoring and advice

• Election Protection, in partnership with county parties

Campaign Toolkit: Candidate TrainingRon Morgan

Online Now & Live March 24th in Salem

Topics include:

• Team building - Diversity

• Drafting a campaign plan

• Fundraising

• Volunteer recruitment

• Communications

• Voter contact

• Election protection

• Why it’s important

– Raise money to help your candidate win!

– Shows your commitment to your candidate

– Gets volunteers & funders engaged

– Great way to bring people from the community together

Fundraising for Your CandidateKatie Drumm

• Decide what kind of fundraiser

• Choose date & time

– Be mindful of holidays, big events

• Choose the place

– Work to make it accessible

• Set fundraising & attendance goals

• Drive turnout

How To

• Low donor fundraisers: goal is to raise $100-$1000

– Meet & greet

– Coffees

– Breakfasts or luncheons

– 50/50 raffle

– Emails, letters, facebook appeals to your friends/ membership

Decide What Kind of Fundraiser

Decide What Kind of Fundraiser

• Higher-level fundraisers: goal is to raise $1,000 up

– House party

– Spaghetti Dinner, BBQ, Picnic

– Potluck

– Themed events (holiday celebrations)

– Wine and Cheese tastings

Inviting People

• Invite people from the community and electeds– Invite about double the amount of people you want

to attend

• Invite people in a variety of ways– Email invites with sign up/RSVP link

– Paper invitations

– Facebook event

– Personal calls/emails

• Get first invitation out as soon as possible & send follow-ups

Drive Turnout

• Call people for RSVPs and to confirm!

• Encourage people to spread the word

• Use social media

• Have an RSVP deadline (but allow latecomers)

Tips for Preparing

• Do a walk through & figure out the set up

• Confirm & prepare volunteers

• Have guests sign-in

• Have campaign literature & donation forms

• Prepare the candidate to give a 5 minute speech

After the Event

• Do ORESTAR reporting

• Send thank you notes and/or make calls to the attendees and donors

Direct Voter Contact

Door-to-Door Communication

What is VoteBuilder?

• Information on every registered voter in the state.

• Tools to carry out common campaign tasks.

• The same toolkit and data used by candidates up and down the ticket.

• Also called the VAN –VoterActivationNetwork.

Local Candidate Access to the VAN

• County Parties approve local candidate access.

• You must verify their registration status.

• Access must be offered to all Democrats in good standing in a race.

• In-Kind portion of fee.

• Candidates challenging a sitting Democrat do not received the enhanced voter file.

An Enhanced Database

The DPO purchases a list of all registered and inactive voters from the Secretary of State, cleans & formats the file, and adds additional state data.

The data arrives at NGP VAN who loads it into VoteBuilder.

Vendor phone match #2

Vendor phone match #1

Census data added

Consumer data added

NCEC data addedVoter addresses geo-coded:needed for turf cutting tool

The DNC prepares the file for a team of vendors.

Targeting

• Talk to the right voters.

• Save time and money.

• Easiest path to 50% + 1.

• DPO Targeting Resources.

Daily GOTV “Matchbacks”

• Daily lists of people who’ve cast their ballots.

• We begin receiving them within several days of when ballots reach mailboxes.

• Loaded into VoteBuilder, so that you can focus direct contact on people who still have a ballot.

• The DPO/Our Oregon Matchback Dashboard.

VAN User Profiles

• Your user profile determines what you parts of the VAN you can use.

• County chairs and county VFMs receive manager level of access.

• The county chair is responsible for determining who else has access and what level of access they should have.

• You can request additional accounts with the manager level of access from me.

We Need You… to be a VFM

• Local candidates need help taking advantage of VoteBuilder.

• Designating a County Voter File Manager to help campaigns can make a big difference.

Communications Overview

The Message

The Mediums

County Resources

The Voters’ Pamphlet

The Message

• What is the candidate’s message?

– Keep it simple

– Be consistent

– Be repetitive

– Be repetitive

The Mediums

• Local Media Outlets

– Community Newspapers/Community radio

– An announcement is almost always newsworthy

• Social Media

– Keep it simple

• We support X because she is the XXX

• Letters to the Editor

– If you write it, they will publish

– Nothing wrong with ghostwriting!

County Resources

• Use your email list to get the news about candidates & their upcoming events

• Share candidates’ social media posts, encourage your supporters to “like” or “follow” candidates

• Do you have a media list you can share?

The Voters’ Pamphlet

• Every single Oregon Household gets a Voters’ Pamphlet

– Every household – not every voter.

• Some advice for your candidates:

– Filing a Voters’ Pamphlet Statement is critical.

– Endorsements send signals to voters.

• The deadlines are firm. Get it in early.

Odds & Ends

Questions?

Molly Woon

Molly@dpo.org

Endorsements for county partiesRon Morgan

• Endorsement means formally giving a candidate the support of your county party.

• An endorsement process is the how you go about granting that support, and how candidates may apply for that suppport.

• Some counties have formal endorsement procedures, most don’t

To endorse or not to endorse…Ron Morgan

• The DPO doesn’t endorse candidates for local office

• Whether you create an endorsement process in your county is up to you

• Whether you have a formal endorsement process or not, make sure you are completely transparent and equitable with all Democratic candidates for local office in your county!

Election Protection Ron Morgan

DPO Election Protection Program:

• Legal Team

• DPO Staff

• Local Election Protection Program County Coordinators and Volunteer Observers

LEP Election Protection Ron Morgan

Ensure that every Democratic vote counts.• Monitor county election offices to make sure all ballots are being

processed and counted according to Oregon laws and regulations.

• Monitor other observers, record disruptive behaviors.

• Work with Democratic candidates so they understand how to make each of their votes count.

Election Protection Ron Morgan

If you have a candidate who’s race is within 1%....

• You may assist your candidates campaigns by continuing to monitor ballot handling after Election Day. Many ballots are hand-processed following Election Day.

• On the eighth after Election Day you may request a list of voters with ballots challenged for missing or non-matching signatures from you county elections department.

Election Protection Ron Morgan

The DPO Election Projection Program can

• Help you determine if your campaign will benefit from contacting these voters

• Help you create a targeted lists of potential supporters on these lists.

• Help you craft the best message to use with these voters.

2018 Local Elections Project Contacts

• Ron Morgan (ron@dpo.org): Political Organizing Coordinator.

• Brad Martin (brad@dpo.org): Executive Director.

• Mario Parker-Milligan (mario@dpo.org): Constituency Organizing Coordinator.

• Katie Drumm (katie@dpo.org): Development Director.

• Josh Latto (josh@dpo.org): Technology Director.

• Molly Woon (molly@dpo.org): Communications Director.