September 12th, 2024 - MI VAN Update Email

09/12/2024

Hi Michigan VAN Users!

With the General election on the horizon, we had some exciting updates to VAN that we wanted to share with you, as well as some reminders!

Vote History for August Primary Election:

The latest voter file was loaded to VAN this morning. This file includes vote history for last month’s Primary election.

Similarly to the 2024 Presidential Primary, Vote Method will not be available on this voter file. This means that you will not be able to select if someone voted at the polls or by absentee ballot for this election.

Permanent Absentee:

Some of you may have seen the “Permanent Absentee” search criteria in Create a List. The “Permanent Absentee” search criteria in Create a List now shows voters who are on the Permanent Absentee ballot list. Voters on the ballot list are automatically sent a ballot for each election, bypassing the ballot request process. Previously it only showed people on the Permanent Absentee application list only. This change should make it much easier to target Permanent Absentee Voters for mailer and Absentee Vote chase!

New Persuasion Scores:

You might have noticed some new scores got added last week. These are Persuasion Scores and are meant to be used with the Turnout - Targeting Score. We’ll cover some dos and don’ts before explaining how they work:

Do:

  • Use the Turnout - Targeting Score with Persuasion Scores! 80+ is a good starting point.
  • Remove all Households with negative scores!
  • Use additional demographic data to build your list!


Don’t:

  • Narrow using candidate support scores! The only other score you should use is Turnout - Targeting.
  • Don’t include Republicans if their Turnout - Targeting score is less than 65!
  • Don’t assume these scores will work if you aren’t using the exact message!


2024: Clarity Abortion Persuasion: Voters who are persuadable by a message of fighting extremist abortion bans. A good start to use this score is to have Clarity Abortion Persuasion at 7.5. Never go below a score of 3 for any voter.

2024: Clarity Trump Check Persuasion: Voters who are persuadable by a message of electing down ballot Democrats to hold Trump Accountable. A good start to use this score is to have Clarity Trump Check Persuasion at 10. Never go below a score of 5 for any voter.

2024: Clarity Healthcare Cost Persuasion: Voters who are persuadable by a message of lowering healthcare costs, especially on prescription medication. A good start to use this score is to have Clarity Healthcare Cost Persuasion at 6. Never go below a score of 2 for any voter.

2024: Clarity Safe Communities Persuasion: Voters who are persuadable by a message of keeping our communities safe by tackling the gun crisis, expanding community policing, and tackling the homelessness crisis. A good start to use this score is to have Clarity Safe Communities Persuasion at 6. Never go below a score of 3 for any voter.

General Survey Questions and Contact Types:

Everyone should now have their General Survey Questions. Remember to put them into your voter contact scripts to be able to collect data on all of your supporters!

On the topic of Voter Contact Scripts, we wanted to bring attention to an issue we’ve heard about a lot these past few weeks: Contact Types. You select these when you are either cutting your turfs or setting up your MiniVAN campaign. You should almost always choose the “Walk” contact type. The “Walk” contact type provides you with options like “Not Home”, “Refused” and “Inaccessible”. If you chose a contact type for a MiniVAN campaign you are using, it will override whatever you chose while cutting your turf. All of this is to say, remember to use the “Walk” contact type!
 

Upcoming VAN Webinars:

Thank you again for taking the time to read this email! We are planning an after hours VAN Town Hall on Wednesday, September 18th at 6 PM for candidates, volunteers, and anyone else using VAN who has questions or wants to learn some quick tips and about the new persuasion scores.

Please register using this link: https://www.mobilize.us/midems/event/687780/.

As always, if you have other questions feel free to reach out to us at van@michigandems.com, or set up a zoom meeting with us at calendly.com/mivan

All the best,
MDP Data Team

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