After we’ve convinced people to support our cause and collected data on who our likely supporters are, we have one stage left to get our best result in an election – Get Out The Vote (GOTV).
How can we use our data to work out our tactics for polling day and the run up to it?
Quite simply: we need to remind people who are likely to support us to use their vote.
Talking to voters
We know that talking to voters increases their propensity to vote at a given election so over the next few days – and particularly on polling day – we need to focus all our efforts on speaking to our supporters and reminding them to vote.
Leaflets
Leaflets help to cement our messages with voters and they also boost turnout (but not as much as a chat). Make sure you don’t let up in your literature campaign in the final week and think about targeting some of your leaflets or letters.
Polling day
Thursday 2 May is when we can all make a massive difference. If you haven’t booked it off work yet, then do it now! On polling day, we need as many members and supporters to step up, reminding our voters to get out and vote all the way until polls close at 10pm. It’s the busiest day of the year but with some real hard work it can be one of the best too!
Stay focused
When we’re tired and we’ve worked hard all year it can be easy to lose focus in the run up to the election. But luckily the concept is simple, for the next week just ask yourself every day: “What am I doing today to get more Lib Dem votes in the ballot box?”
Let’s go out there and make our own luck!
Support
ALDC members can phone us on 0161 212 1012 or email [email protected] with any questions or queries, weekdays all year round. And during the election period, our Election Law service is open too for members and non-members alike. Find out more.
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ALDC members can access more polling day and GOTV advice articles and resources:
- Winning a low turnout election
- GOTV template leaflets
- Advice on getting your committee room right
- Sorting Connect before polling day
- Quick sheets on using Connect on polling day
ALDC: Liberal Democrat Councillors and Campaigners – we are a membership organisation that provides advice, resources and training to support our members with their campaigning to win elections. Find out more/join.
* ALDC is the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors and Campaigners
2 Comments
OK, you run a perfect campaign. You deliver thousands of FOCUS leaflets, you do a full canvas TWICE, you deliver a ‘Good Morning’ leaflet, you do a full knock up, run a Committee Room from the opening to the closing of the poll (with the traditional fish and chips thrown in for workers) and then…..you WIN! But what then? That’s always been the problem for the Lib Dems. It’s the ‘after’ that decides whether or not that win brings more wins and eventually gains or keeps Council control.
You see, there really is more to it than just winning or even the possible humiliation of just ‘giving the voters the chance to vote Lib Dem’. That’s the riddle the Party has yet to solve. However, given the political purity often displayed by many contributors to LDV, perhaps it’s the campaigning alone that really gets them excited. All the rest may require a compromise that view are willing to contemplate.
Oops! For ‘view’ in the last sentence read ‘FEW’!