MEMO

To:      Interested Parties

From: Brandon Davis, DNC Chief of Staff

Date:   November 1, 2016

Re:      Democrats Getting Out the Vote with One Week to Election Day

With one week to go until Election Day, the Democratic Party remains united, focused on the issues that matter to the American people, and dedicated to driving voter turnout. After months of planning and robust infrastructure-building, our national get-out-the-vote effort is in full swing. Democratic volunteers, surrogates, party leaders, along with our Forward Together bus tour and paid and earned media, are all driving home our core message that we are “Stronger Together,” and that together, we can build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top.

We are united around the most progressive platform in our Party’s history – dedicated to raising wages; combatting student debt; ensuring Wall Street and billionaires like Donald Trump pay their fair share; tackling climate change; fixing our broken immigration system; achieving equal pay for women; reforming our criminal justice system; expanding access to the ballot; reducing the influence of money in our democracy; investing in our children and families; and standing up against bigotry and hatred.

Our efforts are paying off, and we’re setting new records this election. A historic number of Americans have registered to vote, and a record number of Americans are heading to the polls to vote early.

More than 26 million votes have already been cast so far, and the latest reports indicate an early advantage for Democrats in swing states. But we’re not taking anything for granted. Over the next seven days, we’ll continue to ramp up our efforts to energize voters and encourage them to cast their ballot for Hillary Clinton, Tim Kaine and Democrats up and down the ballot from early voting until the very last votes are cast on Election Day.

FORWARD TOGETHER BUS TOUR –  Our Closing Argument

Our national “Forward Together” tour, which has featured two buses crisscrossing the country since early October, continues to take our closing argument to voters in key states across the country. The Forward Together Tour has stopped in 77 cities in 20 states, making a total of 122 stops and covering more than 13,000 miles.

Over the course of the tour, we’ve been focused on registering voters before key deadlines and getting out the vote in states with early-voting. We’ve stopped at universities, local field offices, churches, community centers, barber shops and other small businesses. And we’ve focused on communities that are critical to Democratic victory and that have the most at stake in this election, including communities of color, working families, women, students and millennials.

GOTV MESSAGING

GOTV Robocalls and PSA’s: President Obama and Vice President Biden have each recorded GOTV robocall messages on behalf of the Democratic Party, and we’ve recorded 90 GOTV public service announcements with other top Democratic candidates, elected officials and key surrogates.

Volunteer Phone Banking and Texting: Over the last two months, nearly 1,700 phone bank volunteers have come to the DNC to make more than 85,400 calls encouraging voters to go to the polls and vote for Democrats.

Paid Media: As part of a seven-figure ad buy, the DNC continues to reach out to voters through print and radio campaigns. We’ve launched ads in both English and Spanish, and focused on key markets to reach voters in the Hispanic, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and African-American Communities. Over the next seven days, we’ll continue to drive our on-air and print campaigns to get voters to the polls.

INFRASTRUCTURE, KEY INVESTMENTS

Field Offices: As part of Democrats shared commitment to a 50 state strategic investment, we’ve worked with the Hillary for America campaign and State Democratic Parties to open state party and DNC field offices. These offices serve as the hubs for critical grassroots activities like recruiting volunteers, phone banking, organizing meetings, and canvass operations. 

Down-Ballot Support: In addition to a coordinated field apparatus and national paid media programs, the DNC transferred $2.5 million each to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to support critical general election activities that will reach voters still evaluating candidates and engage and mobilize our base.

Deployed Staff: Nearly 100 DNC staffers have been deployed from our headquarters in Washington, DC to the states to help win key competitive races up and down the ballot.

DIGITAL PLATFORMS and FUNDRAISING

The Democratic Party re-launched its homepage to make it easier for Democratic activists to take action to elect Hillary Clinton and Democrats up and down the ballot. This new design is engaging and action-oriented, driving visitors to make financial contributions to the work ahead, volunteer, register to vote, confirm that their voter registration status is up-to-date, and speak out about why they are voting for Democrats this fall. In October we received more than 140,000 small-dollar contributions on Democrats.org – more online donations than in any previous month in the history of the party.

Every week, millions of social media users see posts, watch videos, and get voting information through the DNC’s Facebook, Twitter, and other social media profiles. In the final week of the campaign, voters contacting @TheDemocrats on social media will receive individualized voting support.

IWillVote.com is a voter education and registration website we’ve developed to help reach that goal, and further empower voters to access the polls. Using IWillVote.com, voters have been able to check their registration status, get registered to vote if necessary, update their registration information, and get the facts on voting in 50 states and the District of Columbia — all within minutes. IWillVote.com is multi-lingual, and continuously updated to make sure voters have the information they need to cast their ballot during early voting and on Election Day.

VICTORY LEADERSHIP COUNCILS

The DNC’s state-based Victory Leaders Council program (VLC), which we began this year, continues to unite Democrats and expand the map. The goal of the councils is to help elect Hillary Clinton and win down-ballot elections this cycle and beyond. To date, we have confirmed 3,107 Victory Leader’s Council Members in 50 states, Washington, DC and abroad.

Each Victory Leaders Council includes prominent individuals and elected officials, but also depends on grassroots activists who put elbow grease into electing Democrats up and down the ballot. They have already helped expand our ground capacity in each state, helping to deliver votes and volunteers to Hillary Clinton and down-ballot Democrats at every level of the ticket.

These structures will live on beyond Election Day to help President Hillary Clinton enact her policy agenda, and support Democrats in the 2018 mid-term elections — strengthening our majorities in Blue States and flipping Republican majorities.

VOTER PROTECTION PROGRAM

The right to vote is sacred. It is the right that protects all other rights, and that’s why the Democratic Party is dedicated to making it easier, not harder, for Americans of all backgrounds to cast their ballot. We have adopted the boldest and most pro-voter platform in history, supported candidates for Secretary of State who want to expand voting rights, supported efforts by every state party to ensure that every eligible citizen can register and vote, and that each vote is accurately counted.

The DNC and the Clinton campaign have built the most advanced and robust voter protection programs in history to protect the most sacred right we share: the right to vote.

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