Evidence that Year-Round Organizing Works
A substantial body of evidence indicates that year-round grassroots organizing contributes significantly to winning elections while also blocking authoritarianism and building democracy. This working paper synthesizes evidence from multiple sources pointing to the effectiveness of the type of year-round organizing conducted by Flip the Vote’s partner groups.
Key Findings
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More than half of candidates’ campaign spending goes to advertising, which has been shown to have little or no effect on most election outcomes.
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Traditional campaigns focus on “likely voters” rather than “low propensity” voters. Moreover, voter databases used by most campaigns exclude 20% of all voters, and 40% of voters of color. Grassroots organizers rooted in their communities are able to reach these otherwise neglected voters.
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Academic research documents the impact of year-round organizing based in the local community. This finding is bolstered by analysis of Flip the Vote partners’ work in specific elections, where precincts in which the partners did active outreach outperformed precincts where they did not attempt to reach voters.
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Grassroots organizers working in traditionally neglected communities provide the community infrastructure that enables civil resistance and broadens the multi-racial, cross-class coalition that pushes elected officials, businesses, and others to resist authoritarian overreach.
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Community-based organizations attuned to the interests and concerns of their communities effectively engage low-frequency voters, build a leadership pipeline, and create the connections with elected officials that enable broad-based and meaningful participation in democracy.