Don’t assume that everyone subscribed to your email list or following you on social media is a voter. They’re signed up, they’re liking posts – maybe they’ve even donated. By all appearances they’re a supporter, but surprisingly, plenty of enthusiastic supporters aren’t registered or don’t normally vote.
Another assumption that costs campaigns is the belief that more reasons will motivate a voter to turnout. In reality, these supporters are already sold, but what they need is a nudge and plan to follow through and vote.
GOTV isn’t ideological. It’s about behavior. Here’s how you structure that sequence to drive voter turnout amongst your supporters.
Foundation Forum 2026 brings together the people seeing those changes firsthand in journalism, policymaking, campaigns, political spending, technology, and democratic practice.
Confirm Registration
Before you ask a supporter to vote early, you need to make sure they can vote at all. Encourage your subscribers and followers to confirm their registration with enough time to do something about it. Many people don’t realize that you have to update registration when you move, for example.
Almost one in three American adults who rely primarily on social media for news weren’t registered to vote. So point them to Vote.GOP to confirm their registration.
Early Voting
After registration closes, the attention shifts to early voting. The expansion of early voting and vote by mail means we now campaign for an election month, not day. Emphasize the convenience, ease and security of voting early or by mail. Chasing absentee ballots is a strategy all its own.
This should be a daily part of your campaign’s message when early voting is underway. Anyone who has asked a kid to brush their teeth or a husband to take out the trash knows that repeated reminders are the key to driving behavior.
Election Day
Some voters prefer Election Day voting – it’s their tradition, it’s more convenient, or they like seeing their neighbors – so what they need is a plan. Help them list out when and where they’re going to vote. A platform like Nudge makes this easy to follow through on.
Focus On The Habit
Your campaign’s GOTV messages should all be about making it easier for someone who already agrees with you to go vote. Contrast and issue-based content is for a persuasion audience. Your GOTV audience is working towards a voting habit. That’s where you’ll help them the most.
Conclusion
Your existing supporters – email subscribers, social followers, and donors – are the lowest hanging fruit of GOTV targets. Don’t take them for granted. Make the follow through and ask them for their vote.