Earlier this year, 3 major Democratic groups conducted an extensive 2020 Post-Election Analysis based on research in places around the country where turnout was essential to close electoral victories up and down the ballot. Their 6 major findings can be read in the full report, but the two we want to highlight in this segment include the first and foremost finding that “Voters of color are persuasion voters who need to be convinced,” as well as that “Year round organizing worked, as did cross-Party collaboration.”
One of the key takeaways is that traditionally turnout/GOTV communities cannot be treated as last-minute mobilization problems. As one organizer from the report said, “It’s not a side deal, it’s got to be core.” Voters of color need to be organized earlier and their support not taken for granted.
In Rhode Island, this means that campaigns need to be organizing now in communities (especially communities of color), with messages of both persuasion and turnout, to ensure strong turnout in the 2022 elections.
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