Find out about the candidates' latest campaign schedules here! Be sure to attend the candidates' events to make our voices heard!

The Voter Engagement Campaign is a non-partisan drive to mobilize the peace vote in the 2008 elections, both in the presidential race and in targeted congressional and senate races.

Our goal is that no matter who wins in November, we will have built a stronger, larger grassroots movement able to bring direct constituent pressure on those who make policy in Congress and the White House.

This campaign has three major components:

•    Intensive bird-dogging of candidates, wherever they appear, to make them answer questions and respond to public concerns;

•    Mass distribution of congressional voter guides or score cards, which clarify each candidate’s positions (including any refusal to take a position!) on getting out of Iraq, seeking peace with Iran, abolition of nuclear weapons, and more 

•    Generating extensive “free media” about this nonpartisan campaign, and potentially paid media, via “signature ad” versions of the voter guide published before Election Day. 

NATIONAL TRAINING

UFPJ's Voter Engagement Working Group which includes Peace Action, Progressive Democrats of America, Women’s Action for New Directions, Code Pink and other national and local groups organized a national training on June 21- 22 2008, with the goal of "training trainers" to launch a voter engagement campaign in targeted congressional districts or states and lay the basis for ongoing local organizing.

Our goal is to organize a stronger and more empowered anti-war movement going into January 2009. With 22 participants from 10 states (AZ, MI, TN, ID, IND, NY, Ill, CO, FL and MO) representing 14 congressional districts and 4 senate races, the national training weekend was a step in achieveing that goal.

With the guidance of six experienced trainers we were able to teach the essentials of creative bird-dogging, how to generate “free media”, how voter guides should be distributed and the critical elements to a local voter engagement campaign.

The following sections include some of the materials used in the national training. We hope the materials will be useful in organizing your own training. If you would like assistance or advice on organizing a training non partisan voter engagement in your congressional district or state, please contact us at 2008voter@unitedforpeace.org.

Permissible Election Activities Checklist

This section reaffirms what groups which have 501(c)4s and 501(c)3s tax status can and can not do during an election year. Please take a look at this before going ahead with voter guides and activities during the 2008 elections.

Alliance for Justice Permissible Election Activities Checklist

Bird-Dogging: a critical skill for mobilizing the peace vote and pressing the candidates

Training peace activists to be effective in town hall meetings, candidates forums or on the street is one of the key components to a nonpartisan voter engaement campaign. Arnie Alpert, of NH American Friends Service Committee designed a trainers manual which you can download. Thank you Arnie!

Tip Sheet for Bird-doggers

Bird- dogging trainers cookbook

David Donald Tiffany:  One-hundred years or not, McCain wants us in Iraq indefinitely

Generating Free Media for Campaign

Knowing your audience is key when trying to stand on your issues and being a strong spokesperson for your organization. The documents in this section will provide excellent sources for information on how to generate free media coverage for a voter engagement campaign or other local efforts. Thank you Erica Hade, Communications Director for Service Employees International Union Local 1 in Chicago for leading the training session and compiling the source materials!

Developing relationships with reporters

Identifying your target audience

Spokesfolks: Speaking out effectively for your group

Connecting with the media and the public

Seven success strategies for pitching to bloggers

Working the newsroom

Wind up your pitching arm

Letters to the editor

Writing for communications

Press releases