America Votes
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 2, 2020
CONTACT
Sahil Mehrotra

America Votes Partners Conducting Massive GOTV Effort, Mobilizing Millions

AMERICA VOTES COORDINATES ALLIES TO REACH MORE VOTERS THAN EVER BEFORE

The day before the end of voting for the most consequential election in recent history, with nearly 100 million votes already cast, America Votes is in the final stage of coordinating a voter mobilization effort with hundreds of progressive partner groups in key states nationwide.
America Votes President Greg Speed said, “The unprecedented levels of absentee mail and early voting reflects the success of the ‘Spread Out The Vote’ strategy spearheaded by America Votes and its partners, and this weekend’s turnout effort—which continues into today and tomorrow—has seen an unprecedented effort to drive voters who have not yet cast ballots to the polls.”

GOTV updates from our state network:
  • In Arizona, our partners are well on their way to make over 210,000 safe door knocks and 400,000 phone calls to mobilize those who haven’t yet cast ballots over the final four day GOTV period. 
    • State Highlight: Arizona has been an early leader in developing safe, contactless canvassing, recently featured by CBC News, as progressives in the state are energized at levels we have never seen. 
  • In Colorado, by the time polls close tomorrow evening, our partners will have made over 1.1 million phone calls and sent over 500,000 text messages to voters over the final four days before the election. 
    • State Highlight: Colorado is not only serving as a prime example of how to run an election smoothly by mail, but how universal vote by mail can expand turnout. At the pace ballots are being returned, the state is on track to be the first state to cross 80% turnout in U.S. history. 
  • In Florida, our partners are on track to have safely knocked on one million doors, made two million phone calls, and sent 2.5 million text messages over the final four day GOTV period.
    • State Highlight: By the time the polls close on Election Day, we expect that our partners will have had over one million conversations with voters via safe door-to-door canvassing since October 1. 
  • In Georgia, a battleground with two U.S. Senate seats in addition to the presidential election, partners are on track to safely knock 250,000 doors, make over 1.5 million phone calls, and send 200,000 text messages over the final four day GOTV period. 
    • State Highlight: Partners worked with Get Your Booty To The Poll to produce innovative PSA videos about the importance of participating this year, targeted at more sporadic voters. 
  • In Maine, partners expect to knock on 50,000 doors, make over 350,000 phone calls, and send 150,000 text messages over the final four day GOTV period by the time polls close tomorrow night.
    • State Highlight: Maine could have the first U.S. Senate race and first presidential electoral vote in history to be decided by later rounds of ranked-choice voting (RCV). RCV allows voters to rank their choices for federal office in order of preference. In 2018, Maine’s CD-2 race between Democrat Jared Golden and then-incumbent Republican Bruce Poliquin was the first U.S. House race decided by a later round of ranked-choice voting.
  • In Michigan, our partners are well on their way to make over four million voter contact attempts through phones, doors, and texts—aiming to reach over 600,000 voters—over the four day GOTV period. 
    • State Highlight: The expansive voting rights reform measure passed in 2018 allowed for expanded, safer voting during the pandemic—including allowing no-excuse absentee voting in the state, and for the 40 days before an election. 
  • In Montana, when the final four GOTV period ends, we expect to see 45,000 doors knocked, 800,000 phone calls made, and 150,000 text messages sent to turn out voters from Saturday to Tuesday. 
    • State Highlight: Energy in the state has been like nothing we have seen before – with partners reporting a phone banker connecting to a voter who was in the ICU but had a plan to get her ballot and cast it before Election Day. 
  • In North Carolina, our partners will safely knock on over 200,000 doors, make close to one million phone calls, and send over 200,000 text messages—attempting to reach 1.2 million voters—in the last four days.
  • In Nevada, we expect that partners will have made 125,000 safe door knocks, 700,000 phone calls, and sent 550,500 text messages during the final four days of the election.
    • State Highlight: Our partners have found a way to keep energy high through innovative events including hosting a calvagata (horseback parade) to the polls last weekend. 
  • In New Hampshire, our partners are on track to make over 15,000 safe door knocks, 400,000 phone calls, and send 500,000 text messages during the final four days before the election. 
    • State Highlight: Partners like NextGen New Hampshire have made sure that student voters in New Hampshire are able to cast their ballots—including by launching school-specific informational text lines
  • In New Mexico, we expect over 150,000 phone calls and 4,000 safe door knocks made in the final four days. 
    • State Highlight: Together with our partners, we launched the first large-scale bilingual training, scripts, and live phone banks in the state—specifically recruiting volunteers who are able to seamlessly switch between English and Spanish depending on the voter’s preference. This effort has been able to make about 400,000 phone calls since launching. 
  • In Ohio, our partners plan on making over 1 million phone calls and sending over 1.2 million text messages over the final four GOTV period. 
    • State Highlight: Partners like the Ohio Women’s Alliance Action Fund, which is dedicated to engaging women, particularly women of color, have worked to expand the Ohio electorate. They met voters where they are at every possible turn—including virtually convening members and volunteers for a statewide summit and launching a video challenge where participants tag their friends and share why they’re voting. 
  • In Pennsylvania, our partners will have safely knocked over 250,000 doors, sent over 2 million text messages, and made 1.5 million phone calls over the final four GOTV period.
    • State Highlight: PA has had a strong rollout of vote by mail, and Asian American and Pacific Islander voters have led the way with 50% of AAPI voters requesting a VBM ballot. This is in large part thanks to APIPA, a new organization who has been reaching out to these voters for the first time this cycle. 
  • In Wisconsin, we expect that by the end of tomorrow, our partners will have made at least 750,000 phone calls and sent 600,00 text messages over the four day GOTV period. 
    • State Highlight: Partners in the state have found new ways to conduct safe visibility and mobilization events in the states, including the Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance hosting a drive-in movie night about the importance of voting. 
Tomorrow, as voting ends and counting begins, we will be working with our partners to make sure that every vote counts and that the outcome reflects the will of the people.

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America Votes is the central coordination hub of the progressive community both nationally and in more than 20 states across the country, working with more than 400 state and national partner organizations to advance progressive policies, win elections and protect every American’s right to vote. Visit www.americavotes.org for more information.


America Votes
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2020
CONTACT Sahil Mehrotra

America Votes Leading Massive "Final 4" Effort Over GOTV Weekend

AMERICA VOTES COORDINATES ALLIES TO REACH MORE VOTERS THAN EVER BEFORE IN HISTORIC ELECTION

Heading into the final four days of the most consequential election in recent history, with over 80 million votes already cast, America Votes is coordinating a massive GOTV weekend mobilization effort with hundreds of progressive partner groups to turn out voters in key states nationwide. 
Since June 1, more than 400 America Votes partners have made over 350 million voter contact attempts, including more than 7 million door knocks175 million phone calls, and 100 million text messages sent, yielding over 14 million conversations with voters. Efforts were layered with mail, digital advertising, and relational voter contact programs to ensure voters were engaged through multiple modes.

This effort has resulted in more than triple the number of conversations with voters prior to the final GOTV period in 2018—a record-breaking cycle which exceeded even the America Votes coalition’s 2016 effort.

America Votes President Greg Speed said, “As unpredictable this year has been, one thing is absolutely certain: progressives all over the country are enraged, engaged, and excited to vote. After executing our strategy to ‘spread out the vote’ by delivering a massive turnout in mail and early voting, America Votes is now focused on Election Day. This weekend, America Votes partners are taking back our country with millions of knocks, calls and texts that will restore democracy by ending the disastrous failures of the last four years.”

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America Votes is the central coordination hub of the progressive community both nationally and in more than 20 states across the country, working with more than 400 state and national partner organizations to advance progressive policies, win elections and protect every American’s right to vote. Visit www.americavotes.org for more information.


America Votes
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 16, 2020
CONTACT Sahil Mehrotra

As Ballots Cast Cross 20 Million Mark, America Votes Coalition Is Growing a Progressive Majority

America Votes Announces Massive Progressive GOTV Effort

Less than three weeks from Election Day and as over twenty million ballots have already been cast across the country, the America Votes coalition of over 400 partners across more than 20 states have set a goal of mobilizing more than 17 million voters to return a ballot, vote in-person early, or vote on Election Day for what will be the most consequential election in recent history. 

America Votes has been a key driver of this year’s “spread out the vote” strategy — encouraging mail/absentee and early voting for those who are able to, to allow for social distancing at the polls for those who choose to vote in-person on Election Day. With the help of its partners, America Votes targeted over 21 million voters for recruitment into vote by mail. 

To date, this effort encompasses over 80 million attempts by phone, mail, digital, and other means to ask voters to request a vote by mail ballot. The historic scale of voter contact programs has directly resulted in more than 3 million new mail voting sign-ups in key states for the November 3 election. Now, with ballots mailed out to voters, America Votes partners have made nearly 16 million calls and texts to voters holding unreturned ballots. 

“We are seeing unprecedented levels of engagement and enthusiasm from progressive voters,” said America Votes President Greg Speed. “All our indicators—including historic turnout from voters we’ve engaged to vote by mail and early in-person—show that our voter education and engagement efforts are working to expand the electorate.” 

The America Votes coalition is educating and supporting voters through every step of the voting process. From reminding voters to return mail ballot applications, to sending them information on how to properly complete their ballot, to giving information on early and in-person options, our partners are making sure everyone is able to safely vote this year.

Where it’s safe to do so and with the guidance of health experts, some partners are also conducting contactless canvassing and lit drops at the doors—with masks and from a distance. Since August, our coalition has knocked on over 2 million doors, with an additional 700,000 lit drops conducted, as our collective voter contact effort continues to scale in the final 18 days.

Election Day will bring the end of voting, not the start, as made clear by millions of ballots already cast. In these final weeks, the America Votes coalition of over 400 national, state, and local progressive organizations is strongly positioned to continue turning out the majority of voters who are fed up with the dysfunction of the last four years.

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America Votes is the central coordination hub of the progressive community both nationally and in more than 20 states across the country, working with more than 400 state and national partner organizations to advance progressive policies, win elections and protect every American’s right to vote. Visit www.americavotes.org for more information.