The How and Why of beve's Get Out The Vote Postcards - How I Organize GOTV Postcard Parties

After that busy, but a bit crazy, second postcard party at my home, I knew it was time to get organized and move to a public space. I want to make the process as easy as possible for folks to show up and get involved, so I provide everything for them. I want them to feel good about coming, so I break the lists up into bite-size sets AND encourage attendees to chat (vent, decompress, talk up candidates, etc!). Being with like-minded folks who are also actively doing something to address our crazy political situation feels great. I actually call my postcard parties ‘cathartic activism’! I also want the endeavor of hosting these to be manageable for myself. What I’ve listed below helps achieve all of these goals :)

Visit our previous blog post for places to get addresses & how to spread the word about your event.

Bite-size sets:

I decided to break the address lists up into 5 piece sets so that folks would be able to come for just a bit and help out or stay for the whole time and feel really jazzed about how many sets they’d completed. I jot down the organization that provided the addresses, the state/district/candidate, and number the slips so I can make sure all of the postcards are written and accounted for. For the sets I:

• Count out sets of 5 postcards
• Wrap a slip of 5 addresses over the edge
• Add 5 postcard stamps (cut off a roll of 100)
• And clip all together a paperclip

I put those prepared sets in a box (our leftover envelope boxes from our stationery sets and greeting cards are the perfect size!). I put a sample script postcard (with areas marked off where to avoid writing) on the end of the box. Be sure they leave space at the bottom for the barcode that gets printed, enough space between the text and the address, and empty space for where the canceling stamp goes.

I encourage folks to take a picture of the sample script on their phone and write the first postcard from that – and then use their postcard as a guide. I also write some helpful information on the side of the box to help keep things organized and to help attendees decide which set of postcards to select. I include things like:

• Name of organization proving addresses
• State, district, and/or candidate writing to
• Whether the postcards require a script
• Who the addresses are for (ie if it’s to women voters, youth voters, Independents, etc)
• What the send date is – for my easy reference and so attendees will know which group is most pressing
• No cursive please (this is one I need to add to my boxes!)

I bring a box for completed postcards and ask attendees to paperclip the set with its address slip back together before putting them in the box to help me keep track of what’s been completed. Having the info jotted down on each slip (ie “SSPA-7” for Postcards to Swing States, Pennsylvania, slip 7) helps sort these out easily later. Having a box bursting full of completed postcards at the end of an event is very gratifying for all involved.

I also bring a box with a hole cut in the top for postage donations (clearly labeled so that it’s always available without me having to ask). Some folks bring stamps, some gift cash. It all helps and 100% goes to postage purchases. I also am sure to include the opportunity to donate for postage when sending my e-mail about upcoming postcard dates. Many people want to support what we’re doing, but aren’t able to attend. Donating to cover postage helps them still support the cause. I provide my Venmo name (LaurenBoggs-Meslar) and ask that they put “postage” in the message to help identify the donation. If you, dear reader, are so inclined to help – please feel free to help provide postage for our postcards. The price keeps going up (I’m so ready for DeJoy to be gone from the USPS!!) so postcard stamps are now, as of August 2024, 56 cents each! Since I supply the postcards for free (other than for campaigns that provide them with the addresses such as Postcards to Swing States), having a lot of the postage covered is VERY helpful. There are sometimes small grants available that postcard hosts can apply for.

Speaking of my e-mail about upcoming postcard events, I also have a clipboard with a sign up sheet where I ask new attendees to sign up under if they’d like to receive my e-mails 1-2x/month. As my events are often included in the county Democrats newsletter and shared from friend to friend, I often have folks show up to write who have not received my mailout directly. I use the same sheet again and again and simply put a line at the bottom of that month’s new additions once I’ve added them to my postcard email group. I also include most of the information about how things are set up within the e-mail so at least some folks know what they’re getting into before they come. They also are great about stepping up and helping guide newcomers. Lovely people, those postcard-writers ;)

I also provide a box with black and blue pens; colorful pens and markers; star stickers (someone donated these to the cause); my GOTV washi tape, VOTE washi tape, Red Blue Airmail washi tape, and Organic Rainbow Stripe washi tape; and little Vote stickers I print out at home.

 

You can find the Dropbox file here for the little stickers (below). They use address stickers (Avery 5160) and have the text going vertically. You can change the color, font, text, etc. Once they’re printed out, you simply cut them crossways to get simple, cheap little stickers that help make your message *pop*.

 

You can take an extra, blank sheet of these address labels for folks to use as name tags if they’d like! And, bonus, if someone flubs on an address or name, etc, they can cut one of the address stickers up to cover up the flub, acting as white out! 😎

BEWARE: Learn from my mistakes and don’t let attendees take home postcards to complete on their own. If you DO let some very reliable people take them home, I suggest having a system in place like a sign out sheet where they write down the set ID of which sets they’re taking and have a plan in place to return them to you. You may well be busy and not remember afterwards if it’s not documented somewhere and that’s never fun when you’re tallying up your postcards and are 20 short!

So, preparing the sets takes a bit of time, but nothing crazy – you can probably do it while watching or listening to something. Sorting the completed postcard sets is pretty quick. I manage to fit about six boxes + the pen/sticker box in one big bag and simply keep them together between sessions and can haul it all down to the park shelter on my own. This allows for the hosting of these events to not be overwhelming.

For the 2024 election cycle, I've created six new postcards and have GOTV stickers and washi tape available, perfect for gussying up your postcards and sharing with activist friends.

You certainly don’t have to do everything like this to be successful in your postcard parties, but I have found that these methods help me keep track of the various campaigns we’re writing for, preemptively answer questions for attendees and thus allowing me as host to get more engagement and writing done. I hope they are helpful tips and suggestions!