|
The NonVoters Campaign
Launched in 2000 in conjunction with the national elections, the NonVoters Campaign is a non-partisan get-out-the-vote campaign spearheaded by the Institute for the Study of Civic Values and the League of Women Voters in
Philadelphia to increase our turnout in elections.
Our aim in 2000 was to raise turnout by as much as 10%–from roughly 533,000 in 1996 to 575,000 this year–and reverse a 16 year trend in Philadelphia of losing voters in each successive national
election.
To achieve this goal, we recruited more than 300 volunteers to work in 160 divisions–roughly 10% of the total–to urge people to vote. We provided every volunteer with a turnout target based on participation in the
last two elections, along with “Take a Friend to Vote” posters and postcards and nonpartisan materials on the issues being discussed in the campaign. We also supported a phone line, this web site and an email
list for participants in the Campaign. Many ward leaders in both parties made use of these resources as well.
The following were the major results:
*Philadelphia’s vote in the Presidential election jumped from 533,717 in 1996 to 553,444–19,727 votes, an increase of 3.7%.
*The Presidential vote in the 160 divisions with NonVoters Campaign volunteers jumped from 52,169 in 1996 to 57,361 in 2000–5,192 votes, an increase of 10%. Thus, NonVoters Campaign divisions
constituting only 10% of the voting divisions of Philadelphia accounted for 26.3% of the 19,727 increase in total turnout.
*The citywide Democratic vote jumped from 412,988 in 1996 to 441,834 in 2000–an increase of 28, 846 votes or 7%. The Democratic vote in NonVoters Campaign divisions went from 39,257 in 1996 to
45,189, an increase of 5,932 votes or 15.1%. This 5,932 Democratic increase in the 160 NonVoters divisions represented 21.4% of the overall increase in Democratic votes.
*The citywide Republican vote grew from 85,345 in 1996 to 99,234 in 2000–an increase of 13,889 or 16.3%. The Republican vote in the 160 NonVoters Campaign divisions jumped from 9,239 to
11,265–2,026 votes, representing a 21.4% increase. NonVoters Divisions accounted for 14.5% of the increased Republican vote citywide.
*Three of the six wards with the greatest increases in turnout had significant numbers of divisions participating in the NonVoters Campaign–the 9th ward in Northwest Philadelphia; the 66th ward in Northeast Philadelphia; and the 8th ward in Center City. The predominantly African-American wards with the greatest increases in turnout–the 50th ward in West Oak Lane and the 52nd ward in Wynnefield–made extensive use of NonVoters Campaign posters and materials as well
The Institute for the Study of Civic Values and the Philadelphia League of Women Voters accomplished a great deal through the NonVoters Campaign in 2000. This is only the beginning.
Download the full NonVoters Campaign Report (PDF File)
The NonVoters Campaign Asked People To...
It worked.
We are starting to rebuild democracy in the city where it all began.
|
