The Voter Registration and Vote By Mail Chase features are currently not available for any elections in the 2021 cycle. Please check back for more updates in 2022.
Topline: This article explains the features of the Voter Registration/Vote By Mail chase feature in Impactive, from getting started using this feature to using the pre-written scripts of the feature.
How do I have my volunteers chase possible voters to register and vote by mail?
This feature allows for friend-to-friend and peer-to-peer in-app voter registration and vote by mail chase. Register friends and peers to vote and make sure they have everything they need to vote by mail right from the Impactive app. Check their current registration status and confirm their mailing address to ensure they have the most up to date voting information based on where they live. Using the Impactive administrative interface, campaigns and organizations can then track how their volunteers are performing and queue up registration forms and absentee ballot request forms to be delivered to the appropriate recipients.
How does it work?
Once enabled, this feature will allow your users to follow up with their friends or their assigned peer-to-peer contacts to confirm their registration status and get them all the information they need to vote by mail and vote early depending on what state they live in.
Below you can see what one of the first steps in the process looks like to have contacts check their own registration, but this step may vary depending on their initial match to the voter file or the initial information that is uploaded by the campaign.
How is this different from sending them to a registration website?
The key difference is that the information they submit on Impactive will be sent back to the volunteer to allow them to continue "chasing" the contact with the appropriate next step in the flow.
The screenshot below shows an example of the form to allow contacts to check their registration:
Here's what it looks like once a user's contact has completed the full registration and VBM flow:
How do I get started?
Contact [email protected] and let us know you'd like for the VR/VBM feature turned on for your campaign.
Once enabled, your users will immediately see the "Register" button in their inbox threads and a new endpoint will immediately become available which you can send to your contact universe to check and finalize voting information. You can find a link to this endpoint on the Campaign page:
Can I refer to specific voting information in my scripts?
Yes! There are now several new variables that can be used in scripts to easily run a program that refers specifically to a contact's voting information or take them to the appropriate next step. Here is a list of the following dynamic variables that can be used:
##{{impactive_check_registration_link}} - This will take the contact directly to your Impactive registration link to confirm their current registration status.
##{{impactive_confirm_address_link}}- This will take the contact directly to your Impactive confirm address link to confirm their current registration address and mailing address.
##{{address}} - This refers to the contact's current registration address or uploaded address.
##{{mail_address}} - This refers to the contact's current mailing address or uploaded mailing address.
##{{online_reg_link}} - If the contact is properly matched to the voter file and their state allows them to register online, this will link them to the appropriate Secretary of State website.
##{{paper_reg_link}} - If the contact is properly matched to the voter file this will link them to the appropriate Secretary of State form to register to vote.
##{{online_vbm_request_link}} - If the contact is properly matched to the voter file and their state allows them to vote by mail and request an absentee ballot online, this will link them to the appropriate Secretary of State website to request an absentee ballot.
##{{paper_vbm_request_link}} - If the contact is properly matched to the voter file this will link them to the appropriate Secretary of State form to request an absentee ballot if their state allows voting by mail.
Is the flow customizable?
Yes! There are actually 15 possible scripts your volunteers can end up using depending on where the contact is in the flow. Each script requires a Name, Script, and optional Follow-Up reminder to allow volunteers to follow up if they are waiting on the contact to respond.
At any given time, a contact that is being communicated with can be in 1 of 15 different steps in the process depending on the following criteria:
Have they confirmed their registration status?
Have they confirmed their registration address and mailing address?
Are they able to register online in their state? (some of this information may vary by county)
Are they able to vote by mail in their state? (some of this information may vary by county)
Have they requested a registration form?
Have they requested an absentee request ballot?
Have they requested to be reminded?
Have they reported back that they’ve registered?
Have they reported back that they’ve requested an absentee ballot?
Here are the unique identifiers for the 15 scripts:
"send_to_confirm_mailing_address"
"send_to_check_registration"
"send_registration_link"
"ask_if_wants_reg_form"
"waiting_for_reg_form"
"received_reg_form"
"send_to_sos_reg"
"send_vbm_automatic_info"
"send_vbm_link"
"ask_if_wants_vbm_form"
"waiting_to_receive_vbm_form"
"received_vbm_form"
"send_to_sos_vbm"
"ask_if_wants_reminders"
"done"
What if we don't have the budget to send mail?
No problem. We can disable the Sending Voter Registration Form and/or the Sending Vote By Mail Form features as needed so instead of promising actual mail you can easily instead link them to the appropriate Secretary of State website to find the information they need and then confirm if they were able to successfully register and/or request their ballot.
What voter education data is included in the voter registration?
In April 2022, Impactive will update election information for voter registration pages so that users can share the appropriate registration information to their contacts. The scope of voter education is limited to 2022 federal primary and general election dates for each state. Special election data, including judicial statewide primaries, are not included. So those fields will not be available when the pages are updated.