Tips for Your Voter Registration Drive
Remember when conducting voter registration
drives…
• Be courteous, civil, and cordial
when registering people to vote.
• Be enthusiastic during the registration, but not overly
assertive.
• Do not infringe upon the public’s right to refuse
to register to vote.
• Do not be coercive.
• Do not offer incentives.
• Be creative and develop a clear plan of action.
• When representing yourself as a Peace Action member, do
not support or endorse a particular candidate or campaign during
the registration drive.
Planning Your Drive
Shopping Centers
Shopping Centers, malls, supermarkets, and
other centers of commercial activity are often good sites for voter
registration efforts. An advantage of conducting your drive at these
locations is the ability to contact large numbers of citizens in
a short time. A disadvantage is that of those people you contact,
many will already be registered to vote. To conduct a voter registration
drive at one or more shopping centers, it is a good idea to contact
the manager and obtain a copy of the rules and regulations.
Public/Private Partnerships
The private sector can assist in voter registration.
In many cases, it is good public relations for businesses to promote
public service projects such as voter registration. There are several
ways this partnership can be successful.
Private Funding of Public Projects
State and local governments are often unable
to allocate sufficient resources for large-scale voter registration
campaigns. There have been several cases in which the private sector
has stepped in to assist in such efforts; for example, providing
local toll-free voter registration telephone lines, complete with
telephones, telephone answering equipment, staff, and space.
Newspaper Advertisements
Partnership with the private sector for voter
registration drives is most effective when participating businesses
receive public recognition for their efforts. You could solicit
local businesses to sponsor a full-page advertisement in local newspapers.
The advertisement might say, in very large letters, “These
local businesses urge you to register to vote,” followed by
a listing of the sponsoring organizations, as well as information
on how to register.
Major Employees
Most communities have businesses that employ
substantial numbers of people. It may be possible to arrange with
these large businesses to conduct an employee voter registration
drive on site during the noon hour or during a break or shift change.
What is legally permissible?
A nonprofit organization may organize and/or
participate in voter registration, education, and Get Out the Vote
activities without jeopardizing their tax exempt status, provided
the effort is nonpartisan. Nonpartisan means that the activity or
program is not influenced by, affiliated with, or supportive of
the interests or policies of any one political party, candidate,
or referendum. Efforts must focus solely on educating members about
the importance of voting, without bias for, or against, any candidate
or party.
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