Archives for Drew McKissick

HOW to Hold Successful Voter Registration Drives

July 8, 2015 by Drew McKissick in Grassroots Tips | Leave a comment

voter registrationMaking sure that conservatives are registered to vote is one of the most fundamentally important activities for the future political success of the conservative movement.  And that means voter registration drives.

One of the unpleasant truths of political life is that conservatives tend to be just as bad (or apathetic) about registering and voting as the rest of the general public. The result is that we don’t leverage our numbers and have the impact that we should. The simple fact is that if conservatives aren’t registered they can’t vote. And if they don’t vote, they don’t count.

The best way to have the highest rate of success in registering the right voters is to focus your efforts where those potential conservative voters gather on a regular basis.

In other words, church.

Every poll demonstrates that people who attend church hold the most politically conservative views, and vote accordingly when they actually do vote. By conducting regular voter registration drives in churches, we leverage our time and resources by registering voters who are already likely to agree with us and don’t require as much time and resources to convince to vote the right way on Election Day.

Here’s a list of some simple steps that you can take to conduct successful voter registration drives in your church.

Get Permission First

Make sure that you get the necessary permission from the pastor or other church leadership to conduct a voter registration drive. By making sure that they approve, you can avoid any problems or confusion and possible clear the way to having them help promote it ahead of time. Better still, they may even participate!

Get the Necessary Materials

You should be able to easily get copies of the voter registration form for your state from either your Secretary of State’s website or from your local voter registration office. It may even be possible to download a copy of the form and make copies, if that is acceptable in your state, (just be sure to call and find out ahead of time). Make sure to have enough forms on-hand for your church. A good number would be enough for at least half of your membership.

Promote It Ahead of Time

This is where having permission and cooperation from church leadership can be a big help. Place an announcement in the church bulletin several weeks in advance. If there is a bulletin board for announcements, or a time for announcements from the congregation, try to use these as well. If possible, get the pastor or other church leadership to make an announcement from the pulpit and give directions to where the registration table is located.

Set Up the Registration Table

Be sure to set up registration tables in areas that have heavy traffic, such as near the exits. Spread the forms out on the tables in such as way that everyone can easily access them. And make sure to have plenty of pens available.

Be active. Don’t sit down behind a table, but stand near the table and engage people in conversation. If you’re not pro-active, people are more likely to pass you by. Ask if they are registered to vote. Encourage them to fill out their form immediately at the table rather than taking it home where they might forget. Tell them that you will make sure that it gets delivered to the voter registration office.

Have a “Stand-up Sunday”

The most effective method of registering voters in a church is to have the pastor or other church leadership ask everyone to “stand up” if they are registered to vote, then have ushers pass out voter registration forms to everyone who is still seated. People are then asked to fill out their forms in their seat and either pass them down to the ushers or place them in a central location at the end of the service. Let everyone know that the church will take responsibility to make sure that the forms are delivered to the voter registration office.

Follow Up For More Impact

Be sure to make note of the names and contact information of everyone who has registered. This will enable you to follow up with them and make sure that they get important issue education information, as well as remind them to vote prior to future elections.

Other Opportunities:

To be even more effective, you can get a copy of the current voter registration list for your area and cross-reference it with the names in your church directory (and/or other nearby churches) to identify which members are not currently registered to vote. Then contact them about helping them register. Talk about accountability and the civic responsibility to participate in self-government, and the policy changes that could occur if more church members participated in our political process.

While the church is the largest market for unregistered conservative voters, there are other places that should be considered as well, such as religious schools and bookstores.

Finally, be sure to help magnify this effort by reaching out to other conservatives in your area and encouraging them to hold a registration drive in their church as well.

Remember, political success boils down to simple arithmetic. And every vote counts.

How to Have a Productive Meeting with Elected Officials

June 24, 2015 by Drew McKissick in Buzzworthy | Leave a comment

gearsWhen it comes to lobbying, the squeaky wheel tends to get the grease.  And while many different forms of lobbying can produce positive results, the most effective method is to meet with your elected officials personally.

But if you’re going to have a personal meeting with elected officials, you want to do what you need to do in order to get the most out of the visit. You want them to know what you think and why. You want to know what they think – and what they will do. And you want to make it as likely – and easy – as possible for them to agree to say “yes”.

Here are some simple tips to keep in mind that will help you get the most out of it.

Plan Your Visit

Treat it like you would any important business meeting (or at least the ones that you actually prepare for!). Be clear about what you want to accomplish. Identify which members of the legislative body (or council) you need to talk with to help achieve your goals. Elected officials usually won’t give as much priority to people who are not in their districts, so be sure to meet with the ones who represent YOU. If you don’t live in their district, take someone with you who does. Know what you want to say beforehand. Prepare a fact sheet or position paper that you can leave with them AFTER the meeting is over, (along with your contact information).

Schedule an Appointment

The “higher up” the political food chain the official is, the more staff they are likely to have. For local (and some state) officials, you can probably contact them directly. Federal officials with have a scheduler that you will need to contact to arrange a meeting. Explain your purpose and why you want to meet with them. Make sure that you have an understanding of how long the meeting will last. Elected officials typically like them short and sweet. Fifteen minutes is a good rule of thumb.

That’s enough time for you to accomplish two goals: 1) tell them what you want them to do and why, and 2) get feedback so you know what to expect from them, (and if whether or not they need more pressure from others who think like you do).

Be Prepared

Make sure that you have accurate information and material available on your issue. Elected officials have to deal with many issues, and it’s possible that they might not have the information that you can provide. Remember that there are always two sides to any issue (at least), and the more you know about the arguments of the opposition, the more effective your information should be in countering it.

Remember, frame the “problem” to fit your “solution”. Of course this doesn’t mean you have to be an expert. The most important points for you to get across are why the issue is important to you, and that you feel passionately about it. You’re a citizen with concerns. More importantly (to them), you’re a registered voter.

Be On Time and Be Patient

When seeing any elected official, be punctual. But remember, it’s not uncommon for them to run behind schedule or to have meetings get interrupted. If there is an interruption, be flexible. If possible, continue the meeting with a member of their staff.

Don’t Be Intimidated

Don’t let yourself get nervous or intimidated. Sure, you’re on their turf, but you’re also their boss. They work for you. Just remember to be polite about it. You’ve got something they want (your vote…and maybe even your help).

Pin Them Down

Elected officials will usually try to be noncommittal because as soon as they take a position they probably make someone angry. They would rather just listen politely, empathize, then shake hands and lead you to the door. Your job is to get to the bottom line. Sure it’s nice to have the satisfaction of being heard, but where do they stand at the end of the day? Be polite, but pin them down. (For example, “I’m glad that you’re concerned, but will you vote for or against the bill?” or, “I’m glad to hear you agree in concept, but will you cosponsor the bill?”) They may not like it, but they will respect you for it.

Be Political

Most elected officials try to represent the best interests of their constituents, (or at least the good ones do). Whenever possible, draw a correlation between what you want and the interests of your community, (i.e. their district). Show them that you are not the only one who feels the way you do.

They may not want to take your side in order to avoid taking “heat” over the issue, but you could offer to help solve this problem by working to counteract the heat. Offer to write supportive letters-to-the-editor, phone calls to local talk radio, or even send out a press release from your group thanking them for their support. Find out what “cover” they may need to help get them over the line. Offer to work with their staff to get it done. Be helpful and make it easy for them to say yes.

Be Responsive

If an elected official expresses an interest in your issue or request, be ready to answer questions or provide any additional information they may need. Afterwards, follow up with a thank-you letter highlighting your discussion, (especially if they agreed to anything), and include any additional information they may have requested.

***

In our system of government, the squeaky wheel usually gets the grease, and given that the percentage of people who take the time to meet personally with elected officials is so incredibly low, it shows commitment on your part. And it lets them know just how squeaky you might be.

If done consistently and professionally, meeting with your elected officials will help you be a much more effective advocate for the things that you care about. Building relationships with them will not only further your credibility as a citizen (or organization), but it will also provide opportunities for you to have a greater impact for the conservative cause in the future.

Make sure to get the most out of it!

HOW to Have Meetings that Matter

June 3, 2015 by Drew McKissick in Grassroots Tips | Leave a comment

groupIt’s hard to have an organization without meetings, and you can’t have meetings without people. But meetings that aren’t organized or run well can be one of the quickest ways to kill interest and run people away from any organization.

As I have mentioned several times, “politics is people” – and if you can’t attract people to get involved to begin with and keep them involved, then you aren’t going to get much done. It’s hard enough to find people who are interested in having anything to do with grassroots politics to begin with, which makes it self-defeating when we subject them to long, boring meetings after we manage to get them into the room.

There are five key words to remember: Do – Not – Have – Boring – Meetings!

If you’re just getting involved and organizing something for the first time, then you’re probably less likely to have bad habits to break out of. But if you’re running a large, formal, preexisting organization, then you need to take a look and see if there are some old habits that may be holding the group back.

It doesn’t matter if your group is five people or five-hundred, BORING kills. Don’t let the necessity of meetings get you in a process that drains interest and frustrates the overall purposes of the group.

All Meetings Are Not Created Equally

Different types of meetings serve different purposes, and you have different purposes that you need to accomplish in order to succeed. You need to attract people, you need to inform people, you need to involve people and you need to organize people and conduct business. And all of those different purposes work better with differently structured meetings.

So what do you do? Before you decide what “type” of meeting to have, know what the objective is. Determine that, then build the meeting and the agenda around it.

And remember that each type of purpose as well as each type of meeting format attracts different types of people. All people don’t like all types of meetings. Everyone doesn’t want to listen to speeches. Everyone doesn’t want to sit through “Roberts Rules” style business meetings. Everyone doesn’t want to do social time.

The point is that you need to make an effort to be sure that the type of meetings that you hold are as diverse as the people that you are trying to attract.

The usual format of: prayer, pledge, minutes from last time, treasurer’s report, chairman’s report, new business, old business, then a speech from someone political is NOT the way to go about attracting new people into an organization. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have it’s place, but the problem is that too many of us typically run ALL meetings that way.

Rotate the types of meetings you have. Do you have regular monthly meetings? What about alternating “business” meetings with “social” meetings/events? Or holding shorter business meetings just before larger social events or meal. Or maybe a quick business meeting, then a meal, then a larger, more public social/informational/recruitment style event?

Remember, make your meeting formats serve the purposes of the group, not the other way around.

Different Meetings Serve Different Purposes:

Have Meetings that RECRUIT

Remember, one of the most important aspects of politics is to recruit other people to the cause. If you don’t attract people to your group or project to begin with, then you won’t get things off of the ground. Have social events. Think dinners, a Saturday breakfast, mixers, pig-pickins, oyster roasts, bands, etc. Throw a big-name politician in the mix if you can to attract more people. Think of it as a sales pitch that describes the problem, your group’s solution and the organization that you want to build.

And don’t forget to focus on doing something to attract young people. Remember, they’re a critical part of the farm team.

Have Meetings that INFORM

You need to have meetings that “new” people can attend and get their feet wet and decide how they want to fit in, without getting bored not bothering to come back to another meeting. Larger “general” informational meetings that describe what the group is about, what you’re trying to do and why, and what you’re trying to find volunteers to help accomplish. Talk about the jobs people can fill. Make the pitch about all the different types of opportunities people have to get involved.

Have Meetings that ORGANIZE

Once people have been recruited and informed, you still can’t really have an “organization” without getting organized. At the most basic level, this is simply a matter of sketching out what areas need to be covered and what needs to get done and then playing a glorified game of “fill in the blank”. Have meetings that focus on fleshing out the organization. Then there’s also the regular “business” meetings that you need in order to keep things organized. Just note that this is only ONE of many types of meetings, so don’t overdo it.

Have Meetings that INVOLVE

Remember the axiom, “good projects build good organization”. So think “project” meetings where everyone knows ahead of time what the point of the meeting is and comes prepared to work or with ideas to contribute. The list of possibilities is as long as the list of things that the group needs to get done in order to be effective:

Activist identification and recruitment efforts to grow the group; updates from elected officials; organizing the group’s grassroots lobbying infrastructure and plugging members into the effort to speak out on important issues when necessary; communications and media outreach, (such as letters-to-the-editor to op-eds); activists training seminars geared around hands-on training from experienced hands on specific needs; candidate recruitment meetings focusing on identifying candidates to run for specific offices and convincing them to run; voter registration project planning; candidate forums; get-out-the-vote strategy planning… The list goes on and on.

Identify the things that the group needs to do, then plan meetings around those specific items.

***
Remember, volunteers are at a premium, so don’t run them off. Keep your meeting topics and formats centered around the purposes of the group.

Have meetings that matter.  Do. Not. Have. Boring. Meetings.

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