Face-to-face conversations

Face-to-face conversations with voters, whether at their door or out in the community, have long been the gold standard in voter turnout, registration, and engagement. At Swing Left, we believe that those conversations are more important than ever, especially in a media environment plagued by polarization and misinformation. We know that having meaningful conversations with voters and other activists is key to winning. 

Embedding relational organizing for increased impact

Since 2017, Swing Left has connected with over 50 million voters through phone calls, door-to-door outreach, and Vote Forward letters. Now, we're using the insights we've gained to sharpen our strategy and develop new, innovative ways to reach the voters who matter most.

Our early conversations help us educate voters, combat misinformation, and show the community that we’re not waiting until right before the election to reach out. The impact of a single conversation with a voter may only last a few weeks. That’s why, this early in the election cycle, we’re focused on adding an element of relational organizing into everything we do, including “vote tripling” and sharing pro-democracy messages with friends.

What is Relational Organizing?

Relational organizing is simply reaching out to someone you already know—someone who trusts you—and it’s much more effective than having a conversation with a stranger. This isn’t new, but we know that it works. In fact, research shows that relational organizing is at least twice as effective as traditional engagement methods.

With vote tripling, we are encouraging the voters we talk with to then talk to three other people in their life about voting and what’s at stake in this election. This approach is particularly effective for engaging voters who don’t regularly participate in elections.

Throughout all of our conversations, whether with voters whose door we knock or with fellow activists at protests, we will utilize vote tripling as a way to maximize our impact. To do this, we have relational postcards available for you to order and utilize at your high-traffic canvass, door-to-door canvass, or in any other creative ways you can think of! The people you talk with simply fill out the card with their address and the names of their three friends. Then, close to Election Day, you’ll mail them back their card!