To: Interested Parties
From: Matt Davis, Vice President of Civic Engagement, League of Conservation Voters
Date: August 21, 2020
Re: $6.5 Million Vote-by-mail Generation Program Update 

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) has been up and running with our now at least $6.5 million nonpartisan vote-by-mail generation and education program engaging with voters of color and young voters for over two months. Our program organizers are sharing basic information about how to request an absentee ballot with voters over the phone, asking the voter to commit to vote by mail or in person, and following up with all committed voters with a text message. 

Results to Date

• As of this week we have made over 6 million calls to voters who historically face barriers to the ballot box, or who have never voted by mail before. 
• We’ve made almost 170,000 total contacts and close to 150,000 of those voters have committed to vote by mail or in person in the November election — in other words, 88% of the folks we’ve spoken with have committed to vote. 
• We are on track to make 8.2 million calls to voters before Labor Day.

What We Are Hearing

Voters are extremely receptive to our calls and there is a clear need for ramped up vote-by-mail education programs like ours this year. The coronavirus remains top of mind for voters, with many citing concerns over the pandemic as a reason to vote-by-mail for the first time. 

SCRIPT: Sample phone and SMS script

Voters are appreciative of information about how to vote by mail in their state. Many wrongly assume that a ballot will be mailed to them automatically or that they are already signed up from a previous election — our calls help ensure they have the correct info.

With misinformation and voter intimidation efforts around vote-by-mail and the U.S. Postal Service, this education work is more important than ever. As LCV works to protect the integrity of the USPS, our vote-by-mail program gives voters a chance to ask questions and get the facts about how voting by mail remains an easy, secure, and safe way to vote.

SMS and Digital Components

We are following up with everyone who has committed to vote through our program via text and asking them to ask their friends to commit to vote by mail. We’ve just begun the SMS program and have gotten many positive responses from voters who are appreciative of the support and have committed to talk to their networks about voting by mail. 

Additionally, we are beginning digital ad campaigns reiterating the safety, ease, and popularity of voting by mail to young voters and voters of color. Our first digital program launched this week in Montana, where the general election will be conducted entirely by mail. Watch Montana’s vote-by-mail ad here.

WATCH: Voting by mail in Montana: It’s safe and it’s easy

Conclusion

There is an urgent need to continue voter education and outreach to voters of color and young voters around voting by mail in November. These historically underrepresented communities are also facing some of the worst impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis. No one should be forced to choose between their health and their fundamental right to vote. 

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