Will adding an Election Integrity Question Improve Results?
A post for candidates, door knockers, and phone callers.
Whether you are a candidate, a door knocking volunteer or a phone caller, in some ways you are a salesperson trying to get a particular message across. People may be happy to hear from you and want to talk with you. That’s great. In that situation there might still be an opportunity to enhance or extend that positive interaction with an Election Integrity Question.
On the other hand, a lot of people are busy. You may have just interrupted dinner. They may have to get the kids to the next event. He or she may need to finish cutting the lawn. In those cases you might be getting “the blank stare”, or that “polite smile”. They are not engaged and are looking for an opportunity to exit. In this case you are not yet in the game. Can an Election Integrity Question get you in the game?
People may not be interested in general politics, or topics that seem distant, but may be VERY interested in things they don’t know “ABOUT THEIR OWN HOME”. So what kind of question might we want to ask that could potentially surface such information and get them interested? How about something like this:
Example: Thank you for your time and for this opportunity to have met. Before I go I have one more question. My registered voters list here shows 4 more people other than yourself currently registered at this address. Is that true, (optional) and if so, may I leave a pamphlet for each of them too? (Obviously use the correct number where I have inserted 4 above.)
Potential Responses: If they say yes that is correct, then great. You have verified that the voter roll is correct and you have, or have not, been provided another opportunity to get your message across by leaving your pamphlet(s) behind. But what if you get different responses. Something like:
1. Registrant: No, you have the right phone number, but I don’t live there anymore. I now live at (New Address and State). (Triggers Form 1: Registrant Form).
2. Resident/ Close Relatives: No, it’s just me and my husband now. Those other two names are our kids and they moved out years ago. That’s our girl and she lives in _________ and that is our boy and he lives in _________. (Triggers two of Form 2: Close Relative Form)
3. Non-Relative: No, I (do, or don’t) know who they are and I (do or don’t) know where they live now, but I can assure you that they don’t live here. And oh, by the way I am sick and tired of still getting their darn mail here too. (Triggers Form 3: Non-Relative Form)
Given this information you might now be able help them fix a problem they didn’t even know they had.
So What Next? Well how about something like this?
Oh wow that’s interesting. I have a couple of forms here Link: Three Forms (or email to them if on phone) that can help you fix that. You can fill them out and email them to the appropriate address at the bottom of form the when you get a chance. I’m also going to leave you a Little Card Link: Little Card shows a few reasons it may be important.
Note: (Important): While some of the forms I am providing are DOE forms, neither I or anyone associated with this effort are with the DOE or any government agency. I am just a volunteer. Finally, it is not necessary, but if you are willing, when you email the form to the DOE, would you consider copying the email address that is on the “Little Card”. That might allow some volunteers to follow-up in bulk to try to see if corrections are being made and other integrity efforts.
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Note: At the State Fair, in a sample of less than 50 people the largest number of “extra” registrants as stated by the sole tenant occupant was 4. Yep, 4 “EXTRA” Names at one address
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What you should know before you knock or call!
Whether you are walking or calling, and whether you are working from a paper list or electronic “app”, at a minimum you should glance at the list for 10-15 seconds and try to be aware of a few following before the call or knock. Here are the items and the reasons why:
1. Number of Names Registered at That Address: A list sorted by street and street number will put all registrants at a single residence in subsequent rows. A glance at the list makes the answer to that easy. Notice I said number of names, and not voters! Yes, the number of names is the total. That total number of names could be comprised of. 1.1. Valid Registered Voters. 1.2 Errors on the list. On my own lists, I have uncovered about 9% suspected errors. Based on anecdotal evidence I would expect higher rates higher turnover situations such as apartments student rentals.
2. Number of different Last names: A frequent “indicator” of a “potential” error, is two or more different “last” names at an address. While this alone may not be a problem, it is consistent with a residence being sold from one family to another, or perhaps just former and current tenants.
3. Ages of Each Person: A frequent error in the voter rolls involves the situation where a “child” moved out of the “parents” house. By looking at the ages and last names, you might be able to deduce parent/ child relationship, and whether the children are of an age that they might have moved out, or alternatively the parents are of such an age that it makes sense that they are living with an adult child.
“Note”: Your walk list or “App” should have estimate of AGE, not Birth Date, or Birth Year. You may have 15 seconds and don’t need to be fooling around with addition and subtraction for 5 people at the residence. Get the “AGE” added to your lists. It’s easy.
4. The First Names: These “may” give you an indication of gender, and with that and all above, you may have a good guess as to who you are talking to immediately (Father, Mother, Son, Daughter). You might want to guess a name. Hello, are you by chance Robert? Even if you guessed wrong, the response might lead to information. Oh no, he doesn’t live here anymore……
5. Inactive or Active: If a name is marked inactive there is a high probability that person does not live there anymore. While it would be possible to initiate a form it may not be worth the time because there are other integrity solutions that can be employed to address inactive situations.
6. NCOA and Low Propensity Columns: On my lists I provide I have columns that show if a person is shown to have moved out of state according to the National Change of Address database provided by the post office (NCOA). I also indicate whether the person has not voted in the last 2, or even last 3 elections.
A “1” in any of these columns would indicate either: 6.1 ) A high probability that the person is no longer living at that address, or 6.2) You have found the elusive “low propensity voter” that all candidates want to convert. I do not provide the pitch as to how to convert them, just the observation that you should know there might be one or more at that address before you knock or call and have that pitch ready to go.
In my opinion the above is the minimum information that you should have available at a glance. Again you might want to take a 10-15 second glance before you knock or call so you can be aware of high probability situations.
Two Additional Tools: Believe it or not we are almost finished, but there are two more tools of which you might want to be aware.
What’s the Best Way to Vote in Delaware? If you start talking election integrity, this question may come up. It is not necessarily a simple quick answer. Here is a link to an article that discusses this topic if you want to be prepared for a discussion.
https://delawarecounts.com/p/whats-the-best-method-to-vote-in
If there is no time you might just want to leave a handout. Here is a single page (2 sides) you might want to carry with you that you can leave behind that provides a more in depth discussion of the voting methods and benefits and concerns associated with each. Link Best Method .docx
Voter Registration Information: When talking about elections, voter registration may naturally come up. You might want to be prepared for those types of questions also.
So that is it, believe it or not we are done. Let’s review the Implementation.
1. 15 Second Review: Glance at your list regarding the key information so you aware of high probability opportunities before you make contact.
2. Make the call, and at the end, ask the question: “I show that there are X people living here and registered to vote at this address. Is that correct?
3. Upon getting a response, offer help and get them one or more of the “Three
Forms”, the “Little Card”, or other materials as appropriate.
That's it. I hope this helps and good luck with all of your efforts.