Public Site Voter Registration/ID

Registering voters in busy public places is one of the most cost-effective ways of turning out voters. But following up with the new registrants is at best cumbersome and at worst downright impossible.

Mass non-partisan voter registration certainly has its place in election work. Large-scale organizations have the capacity to register hundreds of thousands of new voters, work that is done most effectively at busy public sites. The results are impressive: Project Vote reported that it registered one million voters in 2004 – and 350,000 of them voted. But when you’re doing voter turnout and education on a smaller scale in a specific community – when you’re doing integrated engagement – public site registration is generally not very efficient.

That said, it’s a great way of increasing the visibility of your campaign or project in a particular community. Studies have shown that it’s especially effective with registering young voters, so if that’s your demographic, get some volunteers out there. And finally, it’s a great way to find the folks in the community that are most inclined toward activism. Even if they’re already registered, they’ll stop to talk about the campaign or to learn about the issues, and may just agree to volunteer.

The Mechanics

• Choose a place that’s important to the community (a neighborhood festival, a church, a busy local supermarket, a college campus) and a time with heavy traffic.
• Volunteers should wear t-shirts with the campaign’s or organization’s logo and hang a sign over the table.
• Actively approach people, and be friendly and polite. Ask them if they are already registered. If not, ask if you can register them.
• Make sure volunteers understand that they can encourage folks to vote but they can’t suggest that they vote for a particular candidate.
• Always ask if the voter wants more information, a lawn sign and, most importantly, to volunteer. Keep a list of leads to follow-up on later.