One of the most important roles political organizations have is growing the Republican Party locally and getting more people to vote red. Most importantly right now, that includes residents who still need to register to vote.
Voter registration drives, while accomplishing the obvious of registering voters, also provide an opportunity to talk to residents, learn about their concerns and talk about how the Republican Party can help, and encourage them to become a member of your organization.
With the weather (finally!) nice and people eager to get outside, consider these ideas to host a fun voter registration drive event that’ll get people to attend:
- Local Parades, Fairs, or Events: You’re going to see the most people from your community gathered at one spot at these local events, so take advantage! Set up a booth and/or have volunteers going around talking to people.
- Cookout: Host a cookout with games and food at a local park where people can register to vote while also having some fun with family, friends, and neighbors.
- Happy Hour: Invite people to attend a post-work happy hour where they can enjoy a drink while also registering to vote. It will be much more enticing for people to come to a relaxed location than a political event.
- Door-to-Door: If you’re able to identify which residents need to be registered (we can help with that!), have your volunteers go right to them and personally assist them with getting registered to vote.
Who should you be targeting? Consider these targets, including a few outside the box:
- New Movers: Each election cycle, there are people who move into your county who voted Republican in their previous jurisdiction. Don’t wait for them to register on their own—go get them.
- Religious People: While the Republican Party has lost ground with religious voters recently, this is still a vote-rich subset of voters for us. Voter registration efforts are often successful in churches and other religious settings, when done respectfully.
- Ethnic Americans: If you look at polling, Republicans are gaining significant ground with Hispanic voters while showing strength among Indian, Polish, and Korean voters. Dual voter registration + persuasion efforts could bear a lot of fruit among these ethnicities.
- Middle-Aged People: You likely know we don’t do well with young people, and you likely assume we do well with seniors (when actually we’re struggling with seniors right now). Did you know the #1 age demographic for Republicans right now is middle-aged voters? Focus on this key demographic in your efforts!
- Working Families: Democrats used to be the party of the working class, but not anymore. Republicans have become the party of working families, and you should capitalize by specifically targeting these people to ensure they are registered to vote.
Time and again, Democrats beat us because they work year-round to register new voters while we struggle to do it even in election season. Every vote will matter come November. Your top priority over the summer as a grassroots organization must be registering new center-right voters.
Reach out if you’re looking for voter registration resources or ideas. Our team of political experts can share tips from helping organize hundreds of successful drives.
