Project Update
March 6, 2019
#thistimeimvoting: an GOTV action plan
Award-winning project encourages voters from all around Europe to build their #VotingSquad for the 2019 EU elections.
Project Dates: March 2019 - May 2019
Encouraging and persuading people to vote is one thing, but there's a long way until people actually get to a polling station and cast their vote. What is more, many voters are initially particularly excited to participate in the elections, but get lost in the process because of practicalities (when, where and how to vote). This proposal utilizes volunteers/voters who are already involved in the European Parliament's Get Out the Vote (GOTV) campaign.
The project encourages volunteers and other voters from all around Europe to build their #VotingSquad for the EU elections. By creating a small group of friends and family who will go together to the polls, everyone is feeling more energized. After all, the voters won't be bored while waiting in line, and they can go for a drink afterwards to celebrate.
Campaign proposal
The campaign was organized online through a dedicated campaign website. The website featured:
a landing page where voters can register their #VotingSquad,
an account dashboard where #VotingSquad members can check their squad's statistics (members registered, other squads inspired, days till the EU elections, events happening near them, and a private team communication board),
a "My Plan To Vote" page, which is connected to the european-elections.eu website to provide users with accurate and up-to-date information about when, where, and how they will be able to vote. The page automatically adds these details to the user's account dashboard, where weather, traffic, and other relative information will be displayed in the days leading up to the election day. The user also has the option to add the Election Day (and optionally a specific time) to their calendar.
an "Election Matchmaker" page, where voters can select how they feel about certain current issues and which politicians and political parties match with their opinion, based on the latter's votes in the European Parliament. The "Who's on my ballot?" section of the page includes information about every candidate in their voting district.
a public post wall, where squads can share events and activities they organized, and exchange practices,
a "Sharing is Caring" page, where all relative communication materials are made available to users. These were used to inspire other voters to build their #VotingSquad, or in privately-organized events.
Incentives offered by the #thistimeimvoting campaign were also ported to the #VotingSquad campaign. Involvement metrics examples included:
Number of people signed up in the user's #VotingSquad
Number of other squads inspiredParticipation in campaign-organized meetings near the user or self-organized events
Participation in challenges posted by the European Parliament in the public campaign wall
Posts posted in the public campaign wall
Likes/comments of posts posted in the public campaign wall
Participation in surveys sent by the organizers
Involvement in the campaign gave users "EU points" that could be exchanged for incentives and prizes. Some of the incentives included:
Bags filled with EU promotional materials and publications
Printed campaign communication materials (in contrast with downloadable ones available for everyone)
Feature at the #VotingSquad Hall of Fame (published in all European Parliament's social media accounts and the campaign's website)
Certificates of Achievement by the President of the European Parliament, European Commission, or the campaign organizers.
Trip to the European Parliament to discuss best practices and share ideas about engaging voters.
Campaign implementation
The proposal featured the following innovative/creative elements:
Low cost: only the website and the incentives are included in the campaign's budget; most parts are done online at no cost.
Success guaranteed: this campaign does not rely on volunteers to persuade strangers or friends to vote; squad leaders are really close (relatives, close friends) with the other squad members and present voting as a group activity that is enjoyable for everyone.
Close to Election Day: no event is organized more than 50 days from the EU elections; thus everything is fresh on voters' minds.
Support and feedback at every part of the process: squad leaders are an immediate source of information for other squad members. The squad leaders are also constantly guided by campaign organizers, and can also submit feedback to further improve the campaign.
Notes
This project was the winner of the Go Vote! Action Plan Contest organized by the European Youth Event.
I presented the winning election campaign proposal at the European Youth Week's flagship event "This time me and my friends are voting", in the European Parliament.