HOW WE ORGANIZE
Secure the Ballot is centered on organizing. Our core belief is that young voters aren’t apathetic - they just don’t have the resources they need. We are making voter registration accessible, understandable, and maybe even better.
HIGH SCHOOLS & HIGHER ED.
RURAL COMMUNITIES.
Every year, about 3.7 million students graduate high school, almost all of whom are eligible voters. More than 20 million students study at a higher education institution every year, almost all of whom are also eligible voters. In 2018, more than 40% of college students voted, mostly for the first time. This represented a 26 percentage point increase from 2014. When presented with the opportunity, students and young people are inspired and want to be engaged. There is a lack of support for leaders on campus in a sustainable way.
Using the Secure the Ballot toolkit developed for our campus program, we will also have well-integrated efforts in rural communities, which rarely see sustained, nonpartisan voter engagement efforts.
DIGITAL ORGANIZING.
Our digital efforts are anchored in the notion that every person online is a real person offline, and that person can and should be a voter. We need to truly meet every voter where they already are, and for most young voters, that includes the digital space.
THE TOOLKIT.
TECHNOLOGY
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TurboVote Premium (to help register voters)
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Mobilize (to manage events)
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Custom securetheballot.org email address and Google Suite
BRANDING
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Secure the Ballot fonts, color schemes, logos, photos, and videos
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Chapter-specific color schemes and wordmarks
PROGRAMMING
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Chapters get early access to the Secure the Ballot Power of the Voter speaker series
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Assistance with hosting chapter-specific events, forums, and debates.
MERCHANDISE
Visibility materials to help you reach new voters
VOTER ID GRANTS
Chapters can apply for $1,000 grants to cover the cost of voter IDs for new voters
SUPPORT
Our team is there ever step of the way. Every chapter has a dedicated point-of-contact, trainer, and mentor.
FUNDRAISING
Coaching, materials, and networking to help make sure your chapter has what it needs to succeed
THE PROCESS.
Selections.
Secure the Ballot will interview leaders and select communities who will be the most likely to succeed. We are looking for leaders with deep connections to their community and an ability to create a viable program. We do not have minimum education or experience requirements in the recognition that we are investing in emerging leaders with a wide range of backgrounds. We place a high priority on campuses that serve marginalized student populations, including land-grant institutions, HBCUs, and rural institutions. We require each Secure the Ballot community to have, at minimum, the following roles, with specific titles entirely negotiable, and with roles able to be combined:
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Executive Director
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Organizing Director
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Partnerships Director
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Communications Director
Capacity Building.
Group leaders, including department heads and overall leaders, will have mandatory weekly check-ins while they build their efforts on the ground. This will also include a weekly networking session with other leaders, either campus or rural, to share best practices and build relationships. In addition, they will have a required one-hour training session on their area of the effort, from organizing to communications to partnerships and more. Training sessions will be staggered to allow other Secure the Ballot leaders to join if they’d like, if it is not required for them.
National Voter Registration Day.
We will ask all groups to coordinate a major push on September 22, 2020 to coincide with National Voter Registration Day. In addition to locally-determined days and weekends of action, this should be the largest single day of efforts.
Leadership Selection.
For those groups whose leaders’ commitments are ending in 2020 and for new groups in 2021, their groups will be required to name their replacements by November 31. All new leaders will go through onboarding training following that selection.
Onboarding.
Once leaders and communities have been selected, and they have accepted their role as Secure the Ballot leaders, we will host a virtual meet-and-greet and training. It will be divided into both rural and campus leaders, with campus groups having both student and administration leaders trained. This will cover the basics of building a team, establishing partnerships, using organizing technology, and the Secure the Ballot organizing model. Groups will also receive their toolkit during this training.
Chapter Launch.
Depending on the circumstances in each community and campus, the group will publicly launch their efforts between August 20th and September 7th. This will include a major day of organizing efforts, an announcement to the local media, and, if possible, an in-person event. Groups will receive Secure the Ballot merchandise prior to their launch date in order to help with visibility.
Election Day.
All groups should celebrate their success. We will offer optional partnerships with nonpartisan organizations to help voters cast their ballots, but this is not mandatory for Secure the Ballot groups in 2020. Following Election Day, Secure the Ballot will announce our expansion plans for 2021 and begin the application process for new groups.
Recap & Networking.
Secure the Ballot will share data and insights from our 2020 efforts, including highlighting groups for their extraordinary efforts. We will also provide opportunities for networking for incoming leaders.
