Young People Contacted by NextGen Vote at Twice the Rate of their Peers, Sparking Upset Win in 2020 Battleground State
A Roadmap for Running Successful Grassroots Programs During the Coronavirus Pandemic
With all the ballots counted, it’s clear: NextGen Wisconsin’s efforts helped turn out young voters for progressive Judge Jill Karofsky, powering her unlikely win earlier this month. Young voters targeted with phone calls, text messages, and digital ads by NextGen voted by mail at twice the rate of all registered young people.
NextGen Wisconsin contacted over 140,000 of the 1.05M people who cast a vote-by-mail ballot in Wisconsin. These efforts led to a clear and measurable increase in voter turnout of young people in the state. NextGen Wisconsin’s outreach during the coronavirus pandemic provide a crucial roadmap for campaigns trying to figure out how to run successful grassroots programs in these challenging times. By following the same playbook in November, NextGen will be able to help Democrats up-and-down the ballot win in November through smart vote-by-mail organizing and constant communication with young people.
Key Stats and Takeaways
- Young voters contacted by NextGen America turned out to vote: Based on
preliminary analysis, young people targeted with calls, texts, and digital ads by NextGen voted by mail at more than twice the rate of young people writ large across the state.
Overall Voted By Mail
Registered Young Voters (18-35) 14.9%
Targeted by NextGen (Call, Text message, Digital Ad) 1 34.6% (+19.7pts)
- NextGen America’s efforts were able to reach a significant amount of all overall
voters: NextGen communicated via text, call, or digital ad with 13% of the 1.05 million Wisconsinites who cast a vote-by-mail ballot, ensuring they supported Jill Karofsky.
- All young voters who requested absentee ballots turned out at a high rate, but
those who received “ballot chase” texts from NextGen turned out nearly 6 pts higher. As states send vote-by-mail ballots to young people because of COVID, there is value in follow-up with those young people, encouraging them to mail their ballots.
Overall Voted By
Young Voters Who Requested a Mail Ballot (18-35) 79.1%
Young Voters Who Requested a Mail Ballot + Got NextGen text 84.9% (+5.8pts)
While the eyes of national political observers are on Wisconsin’s presidential contest in November, NextGen invested more than $250,000 in young voter education and mobilization in the Wisconsin State Supreme Court election in April. The Wisconsin Supreme Court, which had a 6-3 conservative lean before this April’s election, has stymied progressive efforts to fix rampant partisan gerrymandering, help working and middle-class Wisconsinites get access to a good education, and protect the rights of Wisconsin’s LGBT community. The opportunity to engage young voters around an election with such clear stakes has been a key part of NextGen’s 2020 plan for the past year. After 2019 efforts to help Judge Lisa Neubauer defeat conservative Brian Hagedorn for a spot on the court failed by less than 6000 votes last year, NextGen committed to an even larger investment in the 2020 race.
NextGen’s campaign efforts started in January 2020, when NextGen’s paid staff of 37 began committing young people to vote at 14 college campuses across Wisconsin — ultimately receiving more than 9,000 commitments to vote from young people who likely would not have otherwise been aware of the Supreme Court election. As the threat of Coronavirus loomed large, NextGen pivoted our voter education and turnout efforts to 100% mail and digital on March 15th, only three weeks before election day. NextGen immediately began to mobilize young progressives through text-banks and phone banks to sign up for vote-by-mail ballots and started serving ads educating young people on the difference between the candidates on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms. Ultimately, NextGen communicated via text, call, or digital ad with more than 140,000 young Badger Staters who voted by mail, accounting for 13% of the 1.05 million Wisconsinites who cast a vote-by-mail ballot.
By motivating young people to vote in such a “high stakes, low-information” election, NextGen paved the way for a successful November program in Wisconsin. Young people who vote in spring elections are far more likely to ultimately cast a ballot in November, and the major impact of NextGen’s program in April is a bad omen for Donald Trump in November.
NextGen Wisconsin 2020 Supreme Court Campaign By The Numbers:
- Total spent on program: $250,000
- Total paid staff: 37
- Total volunteers: 226
- Total voters targeted with digital ads: 303,849
- Total texts sent: 145,759
- Total calls made: 42,542
- Total direct mail sent: 12,342
1Weighted average of the combined tactics.