How To Get Out The Vote

Published: July 16th, 2026

Table of contents

Why Get Out the Vote Is the Most Important Program You'll Run
How to Get Out the Vote: Building Your Program Early
The Core Tactics of an Effective GOTV Operation
Staffing and Organizing Your Get Out the Vote Push
The Final 72 Hours: What Winning Campaigns Do Differently
How NDTC Trains Campaigns to Get Out the Vote

Every campaign spends months building a message, raising money, and identifying supporters. All of that work leads to a single question in the campaign's final stretch: will those supporters actually vote? Persuasion gets a candidate close. Get out the vote work is what closes the gap.

Too many campaigns treat get out the vote, often shortened to GOTV, as an afterthought that starts the week before Election Day. The campaigns that win treat it as a program built from the beginning, staffed with intention, and executed with discipline in the final days of the race. This guide walks Democratic candidates and campaign staff through exactly how to build a get out the vote program that turns identified support into counted ballots, and explains how NDTC's free trainings prepare you to run it effectively.

Why Get Out the Vote Is the Most Important Program You'll Run

A campaign can run a flawless persuasion program, raise more money than any opponent, and still lose if its own supporters don't show up on the day it counts. That's the entire premise behind get out the vote work. It's about moving from making your case to making sure the people already on your side actually cast a ballot.

This matters more in some races than others, but it matters in all of them. Local and down-ballot races are frequently decided by a few hundred votes or fewer. In races that close, a get out the vote program that turns out even a small additional slice of identified supporters can be the entire margin of victory.

The reason get out the vote work sits at the very end of the campaign calendar is because it depends on everything that came before it. Your voter file, your volunteer list, your message, and your relationships with community leaders all feed directly into how effective your GOTV push will be. A campaign that neglects those earlier stages will find its get out the vote program starting from a deficit it can't make up in the final week.

How to Get Out the Vote: Building Your Program Early

Get out the vote is not a last-minute sprint. It's a program built on a foundation laid months in advance. Here's how to start in four steps:

Build and maintain your supporter universe. Long before your final push, your campaign should be tracking every voter who has been identified as a supporter through canvassing, phone calls, events, or petition signatures. This list, sometimes called your GOTV universe, is the group of people your entire get out the vote operation will be built around. Keep it clean, keep it updated, and know it well.
Understand your state's voting rules. Every state and jurisdiction has different rules around early voting, mail-in voting, same-day registration, and Election Day hours. Your get out the vote plan needs to reflect these rules precisely. A campaign that doesn't know its own state's early voting window can't build an accurate, effective turnout timeline.
Set a turnout goal, not just a persuasion goal. Many first-time candidates build campaign plans focused entirely on persuading undecided voters. A complete plan also sets a specific numeric goal for how many identified supporters need to actually vote for the campaign to win, and works backward from that number to build the get out the vote program.
Map your calendar backward from Election Day. Once you know your turnout goal and your state's voting timeline, build a calendar that lays out exactly when each phase of your get out the vote work begins: early vote reminders, ballot chase programs, Election Day logistics, and final-day mobilization.

The Core Tactics of an Effective GOTV Operation

A strong get out the vote program uses multiple tactics across multiple channels, because voters respond differently to different kinds of contact. Here are the five tactics every campaign should build into its plan.

Direct voter contact. Canvassing and phone calls remain the most effective way to remind supporters to vote. A get out the vote conversation is different from a persuasion conversation. It's shorter, more direct, and focused on confirming the voter has a plan to cast their ballot.
Ballot chase programs. In states with mail-in or early voting, campaigns should track which identified supporters have returned their ballots and which haven't. This is one of the most efficient uses of get out the vote resources, because it lets your team focus contact on the supporters who still need to vote rather than those who already have.
Reminder texting and digital outreach. Text messages and email reminders are low-cost, high-volume ways to reinforce your message in the final days. Include practical information: polling locations, hours, and what to bring.
Relational organizing. Ask your volunteers and supporters to personally reach out to friends and family in their own networks. A reminder from a trusted friend or neighbor is often more persuasive than one from a campaign volunteer they've never met.
Ride and childcare support. For some voters, the barrier to voting isn't motivation; it's logistics. A get out the vote program that offers rides to the polls or childcare support during voting hours (check your local regulations) can recover votes that would otherwise be lost to circumstance.

Staffing and Organizing Your Get Out the Vote Push

Get out the vote work is labor-intensive, and it happens on a compressed timeline. Getting the staffing and organization right is essential. Here are four ways to stay on track:

Recruit early for your final push. Don't wait until the final week to recruit the volunteers you'll need. Build your Election Day and early vote volunteer list throughout the campaign, and confirm shifts well in advance.
Assign clear roles and shifts. A well-run get out the vote operation runs in structured shifts with clear leadership at each site or phone bank. Designate shift leads who can troubleshoot problems and keep volunteers on task and motivated.
Train your volunteers on the specific script and goal. A get out the vote conversation has a different tone and objective than a persuasion conversation. Make sure every volunteer understands they're confirming a plan to vote, not debating the merits of your candidacy.
Build in real-time tracking. Your team should know, in real time, which supporters have been contacted and which have voted, so effort isn't wasted on voters who no longer need it.

The Final 72 Hours: What Winning Campaigns Do Differently

The last three days before Election Day are when a get out the vote program either delivers or falls short. Here's what separates the campaigns that get it right.

They focus resources where they matter most. In the final 72 hours, campaigns should shift attention almost entirely to identified supporters who haven't yet voted, rather than continuing broad persuasion outreach.
They over-communicate logistics. Polling locations, hours, and required documentation should be repeated across every channel: text, phone, door knocks, email, and social media. Confusion about logistics is one of the most preventable reasons a supporter doesn't vote.
They keep morale high. Volunteers and staff are exhausted by this point in the campaign. Winning campaigns make a deliberate effort to keep their teams motivated, fed, and appreciated through the final push.
They plan for Election Day problems before they happen. Long lines, equipment issues, and last-minute confusion happen every cycle. A get out the vote program with a plan for troubleshooting these problems in real time will recover votes that a less prepared campaign will lose.

How NDTC Trains Campaigns to Get Out the Vote

Knowing how to get out the vote is a skill, and it's one NDTC has built specific training around. Through free online courses and on-demand resources, NDTC walks Democratic candidates and campaign staff through every phase of a winning GOTV program: building a supporter universe, setting a turnout goal, staffing an Election Day operation, and executing a ballot chase program that leaves no vote behind.

Whether you're running a school board campaign with a handful of volunteers or a statehouse race with a full field team, the fundamentals of a strong get out the vote program are the same, and NDTC's trainings are built to meet you at whatever scale your race demands. Many of the wins we’ve seen have come down to the final days of a disciplined get out the vote push. Your campaign can build that same discipline.