Elections 2021 - Get Out The Postal Vote (GOTPV) - The Labour Party
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Elections 2021 – Get Out The Postal Vote (GOTPV)
Aim To gain a thorough understanding of what you need to decide and plan now, in order for you to have an effective GOTPV operation when postal votes are delivered.
What will the session cover? • 30 days to go - the 2021 elections • Why we do this • What we can do and how to stay safe • How you can get involved • Further help & information
30 Days to go… Until we elect: • 4,643 councillors in England, which is over 25% of the total • 40 Police and Crime Commissioners in England & Wales • Scottish Parliament • Welsh Senedd • 7 Metro Mayors • Mayor of London and London Assembly • 5 local authority mayors • 6 May - Hartlepool by-election, Chesham and Amersham by-election • 13 May - Airdrie and Shotts by-election This is an unprecedented amount of elections occurring on the same day.
Why are postal votes
important?
Postal Votes - FAQ
Why are they important? What else do we know?
It’s a time when a large % of the electorate will We only have a small window of opportunity to
actually use their vote ahead of polling day. The target these voters as research shows that 80%
% with a postal vote has increased during the of voters return their ballot papers within the
pandemic first 48 hours of receiving them.
What is our aim? How can we find out who has a postal vote?
It is to ensure that potential Labour voters Your local Electoral Returning Officer (ERO) at
actually do use their vote for Labour the Council can provide an electronic copy that
How can we do this? can be uploaded onto Contact Creator
How do we find out when they will be
By ensuring that we have a range of
delivered?
communications that will coincide with when
they receive their ballot papers – doorstep, Again your local ERO will be able to tell you this
post, leaflets, social media and telephone. information
Two aims Keep reminding Labour Keep supporters, reminding particularly Labour postal those who do voters to not always use return their their vote, the ballot option of voting by post.
May 2021 local government in England elections timetable Last date for publication of notice of election Monday 29th March 2021 Short campaign for election expenses starts Tuesday 30th March 2021 Deadline to submit nomination papers Thursday 8th April 2021 (4pm) Last day to register to vote Tuesday 20th April 2021 Deadline to apply for a postal ballot Wednesday 21st April 2021 (5pm) Deadline to appoint polling and counting agents Wednesday 28th April 2021 Polling day and end of short campaign Thursday 6th May 2021 Deadline to submit expenses return Thursday 10th June 2021
What else do you need to be aware of ? Know your key postal vote dates The party expects everyone involved in campaigning to abide by the Electoral Commission’s Code of Conduct, which covers best practice on encouraging people to apply for a postal vote. The Code of Conduct is available to download. Find link for campaigners' code of conduct: are we using labour.org/earlyvotes
Four Actions Get your list of postal voters and upload to Contact Creator Know the deadline date to apply for a postal vote Find out dates votes are being sent out and will arrive with voters Arrange a briefing date for your activists
Early vote resources Visit https://labour.org.uk/early-votes/ • National digital assets • Relational voter turnout • Early vote polling day **coming very very soon • Legal guidance! Print ideas • https://connects.labour.org.uk/products/ gotv/c-32/c-142?templates=easy
Next steps
Only 48 Hours to get our message across
Ideal world • In an ideal world we would knock on the door or telephone every potential Labour voter who has a postal vote. We would also deliver a direct mail/ leaflet plus placed digital advertising. • A voter would also receive an informal reminder either verbally or digitally from a Labour supporter.
Targeting
• Report on Contact Creator of recommended GOTPV targets, and both wider and narrower versions of
that available under the category ‘Absent Voters’ on Contact Creator. These will use new GOTPV
rankings which will prioritise each elector based on how much of a GOTPV target they are, e.g. based on
their previous voting history and whether they are a new postal voter or not, and then rank them within
a variety of geographies so that you can ensure you are targeting electors which we will have the
biggest impact with.
• You will also be able to create bespoke selections using the selections in a similar way to the early vote
sign-up rankings – a guide to this will be published here: https://labour.org.uk/members/activist-
area/tools-for-activists/campaign-technology-support-team/guides/.
• On Contact Creator, under Analysis & Statistics > Standard Reports, you can find a report called ‘GOTPV
Planning’ which lists your roadgroups by density of Labour postal voters. You might find this helpful in
planning which roadgroups to go to during GOTPV to ensure you speak to as many postal voters as
possible.
• We don’t recommend only speaking to them, but instead making a point of encouraging Labour postal
voters to return their ballot while doing normal doorknocking. The Recommended Doorstep Voter ID
sheets will specifically flag GOTPV targets on the sheets with ‘GOTPV Target’. You can also use Insight to
help prioritise your doorknocking work.
• There will be (probably tomorrow) quick report recommended GOTPV selections which people can use,
and the quick report doorstep sheet will flag GOTPV targets.Communication channels that
we can use On the doorstep
On the telephone
Using leaflets or direct mail
Peer to peer and informal
relationships
Emails Organic social Media
Paid advertisingOn the doorstep • Door knock identified Early Voters using a selection on Contact Creator • At the moment we can do this in England only • Develop a local script with 5 key messages as to why it's important to Vote Labour locally • Use the candidate's name in your conversation • You don’t need to be a policy expert – it’s a team effort! • Campaigners must not collect completed postal ballots from voters under any circumstances
Staying Safe • Groups should be no more than 6 people. • Car sharing is not allowed. Canvass locally. • Use the Doorstep App where possible to allow for social distancing. • Wash your hands before and after, and sanitise hands between visiting different households. • Wear a mask, both to reassure the public and to keep yourself and others as safe as possible. • Social distancing must be observed at all times. • Please let your local campaign officer or campaign coordinator know before you go doorknocking. • Activity on any individual doorstep must be on a one-to-one basis. • Please do not post group pictures on social media as it can be hard to tell if you are social distancing in photos. • Once you have knocked on a door, stand back and allow space to social distance. • Do not shout or raise your voice. • Be polite and courteous at all times, and recognise that some people may not be comfortable having a conversation on the doorstep in the current circumstances.
Use the recommended GOTPV selection and run as a 'Reach Audience Pool' to push it through to Facebook. You will need to be a Reach user to do this. You can find the recommended selections under the 'Absent Voters' category on Contact Creator You will need to have set up Reach and political advertising on Facebook – see the Reach guide for more details: https://labour.org.uk/document/reach-user-guide/
GOTPV – print and direct mail https://connects.labour.org.uk/products/gotv/c-32/c-142?templates=easy
If you lack capacity – Use Posted Items
• You will have limited resources – use them to contact key
groups
• GOTPV
• Use posted direct mail to contact Labour Postal Voters ahead of PV
Drop Date
• Use a pick list are specific Postal Vote householdsLeafleting: putting the safety of our volunteers & the public first • Groups should be kept to a minimum and never more than six. • Activity on any individual doorstep must be on a one to one basis. • Wash your hands thoroughly before going out and when coming back and if you can use hand sanitizer or gloves when out and about. • Must wear a mask, wash hands before and after a session, sanitise hands if necessary during the session. • Ensure all of your activists have downloaded the NHS App and have it activated before starting. • If you or anyone in your household has been told to self-isolate or if you are feeling unwell, you must not go leafleting.
GOTPV – on the
telephone
Dialogue is the Labour Party’s online phone banking tool that
enables members to phone canvass wherever they are. To use
Dialogue, all you need is a phone and a laptop or tablet.
Head to dialogue.labour.org.uk
• Targeted selections of potential Labour voters with a Postal
Vote are available
• Script will be available
• You can join regional zoom phone banks. Check the events
tool events.labour.org.uk to find a Zoom phone bank in your
area.
• You can find training and support on how to use Dialogue at
dialogue.labour.org.ukLast week saw the launch of our National Phonebanking Taskforce with
volunteers from across the country calling voters in key electoral areas National
Phonebanking
using Labour’s online phonebank tool, Dialogue.
There is training on how to use Dialogue and conversation confidence
Taskforce
training at every session. It’s a great way to meet other campaigners whilst
contributing to the campaign.
Wed 7 April, 3pm with Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, David Lammy MP -
https://labour.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYvcO6pqzsiEtzFwX-5Egw7YYBRiKt2tPrh
Sun 11 April, 3pm with Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Kate Green MP -
https://labour.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIqfu-hrDMqEtUqkTDaPganrVicLqpmZVS1
If you can’t make any if these sessions but want to be a part of the
taskforce, you can register here.
https://labour.org.uk/phonebankingtaskforce
We have amazing speakers including Deputy Leader Angela Rayner
joining us at phonebanks between now and polling day.Ads and Organic - Do
• Stress deadlines
• Make sure people know when the deadline is. e.g. "Fill in and return
your ballot and vote Labour by post before 6 May."
• Keep it positive and upbeat
• E.g. “Voting early is quick, simple and convenient.”
• Emphasize power of voting
• Keep it simple with a clear Call-to-Action
• e.g. “Help Labour win – return your postal vote before 6 May.”
• Use social proof
• Show other people doing this, if you can share selfie videos of
people saying they're voting.
use copy like "Join the millions of people voting by post this
year, return your ballot today.
• Focus on the process of voting by post
• i.e. simple explainer contentAds Targeting ONLY target the recommended GOTPV selections mentioned in the Reach section of the presentation
Organic and Ads - Don't 1. Do not emphasize queues or that polling will take lots of time 2. Don't talk about how many people aren’t turning out this year or how turnout has been a problem 3. Don’t repeat your opponent's messages to try to turn people out – it might accidentally persuade others to go and vote for them
Digital content examples – static meta
Organic social media – timelines • Create and post countdown content I.e. "You have only 7 days left to return your ballot." • Post at least once a day from 10 days out and at different times of day • Make sure you post varied content I.e. Selfie videos, images • Ask your supporters to share the posts to increase reach and engagement
Social Activism • Interacting with our immediate community, over different digital platforms • In addition to traditional campaigning, using this method could amplify our voice and bring our messages to audiences we couldn’t reach before
Local FB Groups
2 Examples from W. Yorkshire
Emails Send it to targeted lists Give people deadlines Emphasise how easy it is Keep it brief and to the point
Peer to peer and informal relationships A personal reminder is incredibly effective Speak to friends/ family who have signed up to vote by post Share on social media when you've used your postal vote Think about who you can speak to now and who you can ask to return their postal vote for Labour Still time to sign up friends and family!
Role of the candidate Candidate can play a key role in persuading and motivating key potential Labour voters. They need speak to or meet as many voters as possible 1. GOTPV conversations are the most useful activity thing a candidate can do, even if they feel they are missing lots of doors in between because they are talking to actual voters. 2. Maximise their time on the doorstep or phoning voters. 3. Not an effective use of their time to just deliver leaflets. 4. Candidates need to motivate and encourage volunteers to support these activities. 5. Have social media content from the candidate ready to go.
To recap……. 1. Know your dates 2. Know the law & Code of Conduct 3. Increase capacity – mobilise members 4. Plan your activity 5. Brief members 6. Be ambitious
Guidelines
Labour guidelines issued 29 March • In line with government guidance campaigners can resume doorstep campaigning in England, and leafleting in Scotland and Wales. Since Monday 29 March, campaigners can meet outside to campaign in groups of up to six people (max.) across England. • Please read the latest advice about campaigning during the Covid-19 crisis for England, Scotland and Wales at https://labour.org.uk/elections/campaigning- during-coronavirus and ensure all other campaigners have done as well. • Local parties have reported a positive response from voters to doorstep and leafletting work • Local campaigns are encouraged to build on this to increase numbers knocking and leafletting to ensure that voters receive Labour’s message ahead of the important elections. • Only do what you feel comfortable with • Labour Guidelines – www.labour.org.uk/elections/campaigning-during- coronavirus/ • Government guidelines - www.gov.uk/government/publications/the- governments-approach-to-elections-and-referendums-during-covid-19/the- governments-approach-to-elections-and-referendums-during-covid-19
What else can you
do?Continue to encourage supporters to sign up Continue to encouraging and enabling Labour voters to sign up for early votes before the deadline. www.labour.org.uk/earlyvotes Make your voice heard. Sign up for a postal vote. To register for a postal vote and vote early visit https://postalvote.labour.org.uk/
2021 Elections 17 April - National Campaign Day • We need all hands on deck for the bumper set of elections facing us this May. On Saturday 17 April we’re hosting a National Campaign Day and are encouraging every local party to take part. • Sign up to our National Phone Bank • https://labour.org.uk/phonebankingtaskforce • Find out about local activity • http://events.labour.org.uk/ • Get in touch with your local party or Region/Nation • https://labour.org.uk/contact/ • Again, you can view the latest COVID-19 campaign guidance at https://labour.org.uk/elections/campaigning-during- coronavirus
Upcoming sessions
Wednesday 7 April 4.30-5.30pm Getting Government - Candidate drop in
back on the doorstep https://events.labour.org.uk/event/329417
https://events.labour.org.uk/event/330094
Tuesday 13 April 6-7pm Getting back on
Wednesday 7 April 6-7pm How to use the doorstep
Dialogue to speak to potential Labour https://events.labour.org.uk/event/330096
voters
Wednesday 14 April 5-6pm What polling
https://events.labour.org.uk/event/328606 day will look like?
Thursday 8th April 5:00pm -
https://events.labour.org.uk/event/328693
5:45pm Planning your National
Campaign Day
https://events.labour.org.uk/event/330332
Monday 12 April 5-6pm Elections 21 - Local
https://labour.org.uk/upcoming-webinars/How to get in touch
Training Team
training@labour.org.uk Campaign Technology
campaigntechnology@labour.org.uk
Twitter @LabourTraining
Labour Membership |
The Organise Team labourmembership@labour.org.uk
organise@labour.org.uk
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legal_queries@labour.org.ukLinks
Training pages Local resources
www.labour.org.uk/training https://labour.org.uk/localpartyguides
Covid Guidance Page How we work
www.labour.org.uk/elections/campaigning-during-coronavirus/ https://labour.org.uk/about/how-we-work/
Sign up to receive our training email Applying to be a councillor
www.labour.org.uk/weeklybulletin https://labour.org.uk/members/councillor-applications/
Election Pages Upcoming Training
www.labour.org.uk/elections/ Https://labour.org.uk/upcoming-webinars/
Online meeting guidance Webinar Recordings
www.labour.org.uk/online-meeting-guidance/ https://labour.org.uk/members/activist-area/training/training-
webinars/
Achieve
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