So – you’re convinced that
beating Trump this November is the most important thing we can do for the climate right now. You’re ready to work! There are lots of ways to get involved. The easiest and most effective may not be on your radar: Relational Organizing. Or simply,
“mobilizing people you already know.”
This very simple method is intuitive and effective. Why? Any one of you that has phone-banked, text-banked, or gone door-to-door canvassing knows of the great feeling of a rewarding conversation that gets a voter to the polls. But these are rare and challenging. Sometimes you’ll get no answer, and it can be hard to connect with strangers.
Relational organizing benefits from our strong relationships – our friends answer our calls and texts, they trust our appeals, and they are accountable to us (and us to them). If we connect with them and they make a promise to us, they are likely to follow through.
How Effective Is It?
New research is showing that relational organizing is perhaps the most effective way to engage voters and get them to the polls. Recent studies have found it
substantially increases turnout among those contacted – in some instances, by as
much as 13- 17%! This is even more effective than door-knocking, and will give you a chance to strengthen your relationships, to boot!
How One Third Acter Does It
A Third Acter explained it simply:
“I have a list of relatives and friends I want to connect with in this way in the coming weeks. After catching up on other things, I say something like, ‘So what do you think about the elections?’ Then I listen and ask them to say more, tell me what they’re concerned or worried about, and what matters to them. I ask if they have ever done any election work, or helped get others to vote, and how they felt about their experiences. I ask what they’d like to do next about the elections.”
So How Do I Do It?
Relational organizing does not come with a script – but to really make it effective, you do need to keep a few things in mind.
1. Begin by having a one-on-one, intentional conversation with someone in your personal network about a political topic of concern to you – in this case, we’re focusing on the 2024 election. How are they feeling about it? What concerns them most? How do they think it will affect their family, their community? Listen to them (about 80% of this conversation should be listening). Connect with them about your own concerns – you’re working to create a common ground for action.
2. Finally, ask what actions they could take to address their concerns. Help them brainstorm and support them. If they don’t have ideas, talk to them about what you’re doing, and ask them to join you. It can be as simply as sure that your contacts are registered, have the necessary ID and information they need to cast their ballot, or as involved as joining them on regular canvassing.
3. Follow up! In a few days or weeks, reconnect and see if they’ve encountered barriers, if they need more support. Research suggests that following up is the key to relational organizing.
Who Should I Reach Out To?
Anyone you know! If you have contacts in swing states or districts – that’s a good place to start! Do you know young voters? Many are not registered – they need help and information to get registered from their friends, parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, neighbors, family friends, teachers, church members, coaches and others. But any voter, any contact matters – there are critical elections up and down the ballot, in every state.
Organizer Lisa Watt shares: “You may find out people you’ve known your whole life don’t vote or that they don’t vote past the top half of the ballot. You may learn that your cousin tried to register to vote but couldn’t find the right information. Or that your next-door neighbor feels so resigned or alienated that they don’t see a value in their vote.”
And maybe your contacts have contacts in swing states, or who are registered, and their political engagement is mobilizing their networks.
You don’t need any fancy tools – just your phone, your neighbor, and your motivation. If you’re looking for something structured, check out
Neighbor2Neighbor from Indivisible.