CAMPAIGN LINKS & GLOSSARY OF WORDS
QUICK REFERENCE LINKS:
California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC)
The Fair Political Practices Commission is a five-member independent, nonpartisan commission that has primary responsibility for the impartial and effective administration of the Political Reform Act. The Act regulates campaign financing, conflicts of interest, lobbying, and governmental ethics. The Commission’s objectives are to ensure that public officials act in a fair and unbiased manner in the governmental decision-making process, to promote transparency in government, and to foster public trust in the political system.
http://www.fppc.ca.gov/advice.html
http://www.fppc.ca.gov/learn/campaign-rules/candidate-toolkit-getting-started.html
Federal Elections Commission (FEC)
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is the independent regulatory agency charged with administering and enforcing the federal campaign finance law. The FEC has jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for the U.S. House, Senate, Presidency and the Vice Presidency.
Secretary of State (SOS) — California
https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/
https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/publications-and-resources/
PHRASES:
Disclaimer
advice@fppc.ca.gov / 866.275.3772 / 916.322.5660
Any public communication made by a political committee—including communications that do not expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified federal candidate or solicit a contribution—must display a disclaimer.
The disclosure must include, unless otherwise noted: “Paid for by committee name”
Examples:
“Paid for by Jones for Assembly 20XX”
or
“Paid for by Friends of Smith for Mayor 20XX”
Elevator Pitch
A SHORT statement articulating why a candidate or a ballot measure should be supported.
Field Campaign
A Field Campaign combines targeting, benchmarks, and calendaring so that the campaign knows what contribution, voter-outreach, and endorsement targets it needs to meet , and by when, in order to reach the overall goals necessary to win. This roadmap allows a campaign to define what goals are necessary to win, and know if it’s on pace or it needs to make adjustments in order to meet the goals.
In-kind Contribution
An in-kind contribution is a non-monetary contribution, which is assessed by its fair market value. In-kind contributions count against local, state, and Federal contribution limits and must be legally reported as a contribution.
Independent Expenditure (IE)
USE FPPC TEXT ******An independent expenditure is an expenditure for a communication that expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate and which is not made in coordination with any candidate, or his or her authorized committees or agents, or a political party committee or its agents.
Remit (Remittance Envelope)
Envelope used to collect contributions, which provides a format for securing the legally required information from contributors. (A sample can be found here: “Set-Up Your Legal Campaign Committee”)
Universe/Voter Universe
Through voter modeling, a target group (universe) of likely voters can be identified. This universe becomes the base contact list for voter-outreach throughout the campaign, across tools and time frames.
Split Drop
This refers to a mail piece. The mail is printed at one time, and mailed in two batches: the first batch to voters more likely to vote earlier, and a second batch to those who vote late. Printing the mail at once improves the per piece price, while splitting the timing of delivery helps ensure that voters are more likely to be paying attention to the election when they receive their mail piece.
Win Number
Based on past elections, a campaign determine the number of votes needed to win. For instance, a Democratic challenger running for congress in an off year presidential election would look at the total number of voters that voted in the last off year election then divide that number by two (assuming two candidates).
MOVE TO OVERVIEW: Additional variables should be taken into consideration. For instance, Primary elections have a far lower voter turnout. Multi-candidate races make the math more difficult, but researching past races will give the campaign an idea of the targeted number of voters needed to win.
ACRONYMS:
CDP
The California Democratic Party represents Democrats, statewide and nationally. The Democratic Party supports County Democratic organizations.
https://cadem.org/
DCCC
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (also called the “D- Triple – C, or D-Trip) is the only political committee in the country whose principal mission is to support Democratic House candidates every step of the way.
https://dccc.org
DNC
The Democratic National Committee is committed to taking back the White House in 2020 and electing Democrats at every level — from the school board to the Oval Office. But we can only do that together.
https://democrats.org/who-we-are/
FPPC (Fair Political Practices Commission)
USE their website
GOTV (Get Out The Vote)
The program a campaign uses to contact voters during the time between when the ballots are mailed to voters, and the election date. Using data the campaign has collected identifying likely supporters, and the voter data base which indicates which voter ballots have not yet been returned, the campaign can pursue likely supporters to encourage them to vote.
IE (Independent Expenditure)
USE FPPC TEXT ******An independent expenditure is an expenditure for a communication that expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate and which is not made in coordination with any candidate, or his or her authorized committees or agents, or a political party committee or its agents.
PAC
A Political Action Committee is an entity that meets one of the following conditions:
- An authorized committee of a candidate (see definition of candidate)
- Any club, association or other group of persons that receives contributions or makes expenditures, either of which aggregate over $1,000 during a calendar year
- A local unit of a political party (except a state party committee) that: (1) receives contributions aggregating over $5,000 during a calendar year; (2) makes contributions or expenditures either of which aggregate over $1,000 during a calendar year or (3) makes payments aggregating over $5,000 during a calendar year for certain activities that are exempt from the definitions of contribution and expenditure.
LABOR UNIONS:
CLC
Central Labor Councils *** find formal description ***
CTA
California Teachers Association: We Are California Educators—We believe our public schools are worth fighting for. That belief has guided our union since 1863. Today, we’re still just as dedicated in the fight for equal access, justice, and resources for all of California’s students, teachers, and classrooms.
https://www.cta.org/
SEIU
The Service Employees International Union
SEIU: https://www.seiu.org/
DOOR-TO-DOOR CANVASSING
- Door-to-Door ID:
average 15 doors per hour (about 12-18 doors), results in
average 8 in-person contacts per hour (about 6-10 contacts)
(assume 2-person teams; 2-hour walking shifts)
VOLUNTEER CALCULATOR:
Target: 1,200 Contacts
3,600 doors ÷ 15 doors knocked/hour = 240 hours
240 hours x 5 contacts/hour = 1,200 contacts
240 hours ÷ 2 hour shifts = 120 volunteer-hours
120 volunteers-hours ÷ 10 days = 12 volunteers-hours/day
> 1,200 in-person contacts requires 3,600 targeted doors
PHONE CANVASSING
- Phone IDs
average 15 contacts (12-20 contacts) per hour / 3-hour call shifts
(depending on length of script and contact rate)- ID calls ask the voter to express whether they are inclined to voter in favor of the candidate, or not.
- ID calls take longer because there is the potential for more dialogue.
- Phone Introductions/Invitations
average 16 contacts (13-17 contacts) per hour / 3-hour call shifts- These calls don’t include “persuasion” and can go more quickly
- Phone GOTV (Get Out The Vote or Chase Calls)
average 35 contacts (30-40 contacts) per hour (assumes leaving a message)- These calls are reminders for voters to vote, and often include polling (Vote Center) locations and open times.
DROPPING LITERATURE
- Dropping literature
average 50 houses (30 – 70 houses) per person/per hour shift, depending on turf
- Assumes no-knocking
VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT
- Volunteer Recruitment calling — average 5 volunteers (3-10 volunteers) per hour depending on list and task (e.g. canvassing fewer, Persuasion calling more, ID calling more, GOTV calling more, dropping lit still more)
EXAMPLE:
DOOR-TO-DOOR CANVASSING:
To knock 3,600 doors in 10 days you will need 12 volunteers/day for 10 days, each person working a 2 hour shift. You will make approximately 1200 contacts.
Start with 3600 households. To calculate how many hours it will take:
3600 HH ÷ 15 doors knocked per hour = 240 hours
To calculate number of volunteers you need to determine how long a shift will be:
240 hours ÷ 2 hour shifts = 120 shifts (or volunteers)
