In the context of a political campaign, targeting is the strategy by which a candidate will decide which voters to communicate with. Due to limited time and resources, a candidate may target those who voted recently and frequently, those who match their identity, those who live in certain areas (precincts) of their district, or those who fit a certain racial or social demographic.

Based on the targeting strategy, this is the specific group of people that a candidate will communicate with in order to earn their vote. A target universe is crafted using voter records housed in a voter file database.

One of the main ways that candidates access voters, their voting history, and other key voter demographics is through a voter file database. Political parties and advocacy groups have created databases that sit on top of county or state voter files so that information can be filtered and utilized. Democrats use the Voter Activation Network (VAN) and Republicans have access to I360 / others, and often non-partisan or advocacy groups have resorted to creating databases to serve their needs. LEE has access to “Minsights” which services education advocacy groups. 

• VAN

• PDI

• Minsights

The number of people who cast their vote/vote in any given election. At LEE, we help candidates project turnout for their election by reviewing previous elections that happened in similar years. For example, we determine if the previous election happened during an off year, midterm, or a presidential year and if there was any local context that may have impacted turnout.

The number of votes by which we expect a candidate to win or once an election has occurred the number of votes by which the candidate won. Candidates can estimate a future win number by reviewing previous turnout and win numbers.

Turnout from previous elections are compiled online or in paper format by the county or state election department.

The approach a campaign will take to talk to voters which could include knocking on doors (canvassing), calling (phone banking), texting, hosting events or house meetings, yard signs, and/or sending mail. 

• Door to door canvassing: A voter contact method that allows the candidate, their volunteers or paid canvassers to speak with voters at the doors. LEE recommends that candidates use a canvassing app like Mini VAN or Organizer, a script with survey questions to collect data, and a target universe in order to effectively canvass and does not recommend knocking on every door in your community. 

• Mini VAN: A mobile app that connects to the VAN so that canvassers can collect data about the voter and their responses during door to door canvassing.

• Organizer: A mobile app and online portal that connects to Minsights so that canvassers can collect data about the voter and their responses during door to door canvassing.

• Script: A guided conversation that the candidate and volunteers will follow when talking with voters.

• Survey questions: Questions that the voter can respond to so that the candidate can collect answers in a systematic way. LEE has a template script with survey questions for candidates. 

• Phone banking: A voter contact method that allows the candidate, their volunteers, or paid canvassers to speak with voters over the phone. Minsights and VAN offer phone banking services and/or LEE can recommend phone vendors to make mass phone calls (live or robo).

• Peer to peer text messages: An innovative way for volunteers to send text messages to voters’ cell phones when they have not explicitly opted in to text messaging programs because a human rather than a computer is sending each text. Minsights offers a text tool in their database that sends an introduction text to cell phones from the voter file and allows volunteers to respond to messages that come in to the “inbox”. 

People who are regular voters or who are expected to vote. Oftentimes, candidates will target people who have voted in all recent elections or at least in 1 or 2 of the most recent elections.

The resources needed to fund a candidate’s voter contact program.

The smaller electoral districts that make up your district. Normally, there is one polling location per precinct and election results are reported at the precinct level.

The process of assigning certain sections of your district to a canvasser or pair of canvassers in advance of a door knocking activist. VAN and Organizer each have their own tools to “cut turf” within the voter file database.

When a candidate can trust the responses collected from their voter contact program they have established data integrity. This can be done by correctly setting up scripts and survey questions, training volunteers how to collect data, and ensuring the responses collected by canvassers and volunteers are accurate and not falsified.

Information about a variety of topics presented on a scored range that are available within your voterfile database. Model scores are created based on polls and demographic data that generalize a voter’s score based on the information available. Common model scores are turnout (likelihood to vote), partisanship (Conservative vs. Progressive), race (predicted ethnicity) and issues. LEE has access to a variety of TargetSmart scores in Minsights.