ACTION PLAYBOOK

Register (You + Your Friends!)
to Vote

  • Ensure you and your friends are able to participate in this year’s election.

    1. Ensure you are registered

    2. Request a mail or absentee ballot if needed

    3. Find your polling location

    4. Choose some friends to contact

    5. Write your message

    6. Reach out and follow up

    7. Optional Level Up! steps

1. Ensure you’re registered to vote

This is like putting on your own oxygen mask before helping others. We can’t champion voter registration when we haven’t determined our own registration status! Confirm that you’re registered to vote at your current address. If you’re not, you need to re-register using the same tool or else you might face issues voting, depending on your state! Want to stay registered at another address? Jump to Step 2.

2. Request a mail or absentee ballot if needed

Voting Absentee: You should not be registered to vote at an address you can’t reasonably claim to live at, like a former apartment now leased to someone else. But if you’re in a temporary living situation, you can remain registered at your more permanent address if you’d prefer to vote in that state/city. Keep in mind that registering to vote at your current address will get you election-related mail much more quickly. If you’re staying registered at a different location (e.g. your parents’ house, or a home you own but aren’t currently staying in), you will need to request an absentee ballot to wherever you plan to be on Election Day from the state where you’re registered. (And it goes without saying that you can only vote once per election, in one location!).

Voting by Mail: You can also vote by mail in your home jurisdiction if there’s a chance you might be busy on Election Day, you want to get it done early, or if this option just sounds more convenient to you. (They’ll usually send you an “I Voted!” sticker in the mail so you don’t feel left out!). You can request both absentee and mail ballots at the link below.

3. Find your polling location

Prevent a scramble on Election Day by looking up your polling location and writing it down. This can be found on your city or town’s board of elections website. Just Google your city + “polling location” and you should find a spot to plug in your address.

4. Pick a few friends to contact about registering to vote

Now that you’re all set for Election Day, it’s time to encourage others! For the best results, use 1:1, 1:2, or small-group outreach; there’s less opportunity to diffuse accountability. We are going to call, text, video chat each person and put them on the spot. This is democracy we’re talking about!

Who’s most strategic to contact?

  • Recently moved? Been to any housewarming parties recently? Check your calendar! Know anyone moving before November?

  • Competitive District? Scroll your contacts, use LinkedIn & Facebook advanced search features, etc. to identify friends who live in competitive districts. (‘Competitive districts’ are listed as “lean” or “tossup” here: House, Senate, and Presidential)

5. Draft your message

The message is simple: Are you sure you’re registered to vote at your current address? If not, can you check and then register today?

📓 Open a blank drafting space. This message should feel authentic to you, so we haven’t provided a template. It’s okay to keep it short and sweet—you know what resonates with your friends and family.

✍️ In a few sentences, we suggest answering these questions:

  • Why do you feel personally invested in this election?

  • What are the stakes for the climate? (If a different issue fires up your friend(s), talk about that!)

  • Why now? Why are you calling on friends to register to vote?

Adapt the message based on your friend’s current propensity for voting and the degree to which they’re already bought in to civic engagement. Are they passionate about voting and usually on top of things, but they’ve moved recently? Or do they need convincing that voting matters at all?

6. Reach out (and set a reminder to follow up)

It’s time! Call or text the people identified above. We encourage you to call on the phone or video. Make sure you have this link handy.

Consider starting a group chat or email thread of a few friends who committed to registering to vote. Then, set a reminder (right now) for yourself to message them in two days to ask whether they’ve registered, and be prepared to nag if not!

Of course, the best results come from 1:1 outreach, but if you've already reached out to several friends or family members individually, consider sharing the link to this playbook in a social media post.

Next steps

  • Up to 80% of voters who register on Vote.org (the embed above) follow through and cast a ballot on election day! However, it's hard to register new voters from far away. Their contact info is not publicly available in the voter files, so we can't phone bank them or write letters. We have to meet them where they are, which is usually in the real world, face-to-face. So, especially if you live in a swing state, registering the folks around you is a really great use of your time.

    Here are some above-and-beyond ways that you can register new voters:

    • Check our voter registration events feed to join a voter registration drive near you.

    • Don't see one in your area?

      • Get involved with NextGen America, When We All Vote, and HeadCount. (P.S. With HeadCount, you get free tickets to big concerts if you help them register voters in advance!).

      • Search on Mobilize. Use the Filter function to search "Voter Registration" and your area.

      • Google it! Try a few different search terms to see what works.

      • Host your own voter drive! Check out the instructions in this guide. It's written for students organizing on campus, but the resources & tactics are relevant to all. Pop up at the local farmer's market! Go stand outside the the quad at your local community college!

  • If your friends are receptive but seem like they need social accountability, consider putting a date on the calendar to host a little “ballot review” party ahead of Election Day (or the election-related event of your choice!). We’ve got a playbook for that.

And that’s it, playbook complete! Feel accomplished.
Thank you for taking action.

Want more action?
Return to The Climate Vote.

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