Tactic 3: Text Follow-Ups
Text: The Icing on the Voter Registration Cake
Text messaging isn’t what it used to be, but what it’s becoming is too cheap and too efficient to pass up.
Overview
Text campaigns aren’t the main method for any voter registration campaign these days, and rightfully so. They’re not the big political messengers they were 10-15 years ago, and even became one of the big memes of 2024 with how many fundraising texts the Harris campaign were sending out.
What that doesn’t mean is that they’re useless. Instead, there’s an opportunity to reduce messaging down to important, relevant follow-ups and GOTV info.
So, we didn’t run texts as standalones. Instead, we used them to prop up the real stars: pre-filled mailers and postcards.
How’d That Go?
On their own, texting showed a little bump in registrations and votes gained. Paired with mailers and postcards, on the other hand, texting added an extra nudge that got voters off the couch and onto the rolls.
And they’re dirt cheap. Like “loose change in your car cupholder” cheap. While they didn’t see the same numbers as the mailer and postcard campaigns, text follow-ups gained enough votes at a low enough cost that there’s no reason not to use them.
How We Did It
We timed texts using USPS scans so voters got a reminder right after our mailer or postcard landed.
The texts weren’t elaborate. Just a simple: “Hey, you got mail from us, go check it out.”
Extra touchpoints = extra votes. Where we added the text follow-up, programs saw more success.
What We Learned
While they didn’t make or break any campaigns, text follow-ups were a cheap, simple addition to voter registration programs that came with legit results.
Think of it this way: If mailers and postcards are your groceries, text follow-ups are the candy bar at checkout. You didn’t plan on it, and you don’t have to have it, but you’ll thank yourself later.
Texts alone won’t win an election. But as a booster, they’re cheap, easy, and too good to pass up. It’s the low-hanging fruit of voter registration, and we’re really good at it.
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