Use the Database On Election Day

While much attention is given to the use of databases for getting volunteers and raising funds for the campaign, an underused aspect of the database is for identification and contact of potential supporters who have not voted. This use requires organization of three separate branches of the campaign and unity among the three to be successful. They are

• Polling station volunteers
• Database administrator
• Phone bank volunteers

Polling station volunteers. These are the boots on the ground who document the people who have come in and voted. Each voting district should have a list of potential voters and supporters. As people come in to vote, these volunteers should annotate who has voted. At some predetermined time (2-3 hours before the closing of the polling station), these volunteers should provide the annotated list to the database administrator.

Database administrator. This is the most time-critical potential bottleneck of the process. The database administrator must input the names of the people who have voted and then pull out a list of names, addresses, and phone numbers of potential supporters who have not yet voted. This will require setting up forms and queries beforehand so that data entry is simplified and the query to pull supporters who have not voted can output the results at the click of a button. This query also needs to sort out calling lists in small groups (10 to 20 if enough phone bank volunteers are available) so that the phone bank coordinator can dole out assignments rapidly. Once complete, the database administrator needs to get the phone bank lists to the phone bank coordinator immediately.

Phone bank volunteers. This group will need a coordinator to receive the assignments from the database administrator and parcel out the work assignments to the volunteers. The phone bank volunteers will then need to call their lists to remind them to get out and vote for the candidate. Additionally, if they can reach the actual voter instead of an answering machine, the volunteer can identify if the voter needs transportation.

If transportation volunteers are available, the phone bank workers can provide names and addresses of individuals who need transportation so that the drivers can pick up voters and bring them to the polls. Again, this is a time-sensitive issue, as drivers will likely only have an hour to two hours to pick up voters and bring them to the polls.

If executed well, the day of voting database campaign can help bring incremental voters out to vote who may not have otherwise voted. This grassroots work can be the difference between winning a campaign and losing by a narrow margin.