A voter file is the backbone of any successful political campaign and how well you understand your voter data can mean the difference between winning and losing. But I also know how overwhelming it can be for first-time candidates to figure out where to start. Let me break it down for you in a way that won’t make your head spin.
What is Voter Data?
A voter file is essentially your district’s electoral database. It’s like a giant spreadsheet (though much more sophisticated) containing information about registered voters in your area.
By law, it is required for each state to keep their voter rolls accurate and up to date with current registered voters. It’s also required that state officials make that voter data open to the public and easily accessible to all who ask to see it.
Here’s what you’ll typically find in a typical file:
- Basic demographic information: Name, age, gender, date of registration, county, and address of registered voters. You’ll also see some type of voter registration number which is unique identifier that ties directly back to that person.
- Voting districts: Name and ID number of their voting district, and typically you’ll also see things like the upper and lower chambers the person belongs to, and sometimes the school district they live in as well.
- Voting history: Which elections they’ve participated in (though not who they voted for) along with the method of voting (at the polls, absentee, by mail, etc.)
- Party affiliation: Whether they’re registered as Democrat, Republican, Independent, or other
Some voter registration forms ask for contact information like phone number and email, and, when given, that information will be added to the file. Otherwise, a physical address is typically the only contact information you’ll find.
Legal aspects of voter data
Now, before you get too excited about how you might be able to use this data, let’s talk about what’s legal and what’s not.
Voter registration information is generally public record, but there are strict rules about how you can use it. It’s like being invited to someone’s house – you can look around, but you can’t start rummaging through their drawers!
Each state has its own rules about voter file access and use, but, generally speaking, voter information is available for political use only. That means, if you’re running for office you can use the data. Most states prohibit using public voter information for any type of commercial solicitation. For example, you can’t get the state’s voter roll, filter for Democrats, and then send them a coupon to your business.
Why You Need Voter Data
If you’re thinking about running for office, voter data will help you determine who’s likely going to vote and, therefore, whether you’ve got a shot at winning. This is called your “path to victory.”
But, there are a few things you want to do before digging into the voter file. In particular, I recommend understanding why you want to run and the legal requirements for getting on the ballot in your area. Those are fundamental elements of your campaign that need to be determined before you look at data. So, before you print those campaign signs or design that perfect logo, read those articles, and then move forward into the voter file!
Determining if there is a viable path to victory
I can’t tell you how many potential candidates I’ve seen jump into races without first analyzing the numbers. Don’t be that person! Voter data analysis can tell you:
- How many voters there are in your district
- Whether the demographics favor your candidacy
- How many voters are likely to turn out on election day
- How many votes you’ll likely need to win
You’ll also use the voter file to determine partisan breakdown of the district (which political party do candidates belong to). This is important because you can do a quick analysis of the likely votes you’ll obtain on election day. Research has proven that most voters cast their vote for the candidate of their respective political party. Democrats vote for Democrats, Republicans vote for Republicans, etc. Of course, there are exceptions and the harder you work to persuade members of other parties the more likely you are to win their vote. But, if you need 5,000 votes to win in your district and there are only 1,000 registered Republicans and you are a Republican – your path to victory is going to be very narrow. Not impossible, but it will be an uphill battle that will require more work and resources than would have otherwise been required if the partisan breakdown was more evenly matched.
In a future blog post, we’ll break down how to calculate your win number. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter, The Monday Memo, to be notified when we publish that resource.
Building targeted campaign strategies
Once you’ve determined you’ve got a fighting chance, voter data becomes your secret weapon.
Using voter data, you can:
- Target voters who regularly participate in your type of election
- Focus on neighborhoods with historically high turnout
- Identify voters who align with your party or platform
- Create maps of likely voters and vote goals by district
Resource optimization
Running a campaign is expensive and time-consuming. Voter data helps you make every dollar and minute count. For example, you are a Democrat running in a district that has 5 wards and a total registration of 5,000 voters, with 3,500 of them being registered Democrats. You can probably win that race just by communicating more with your base Democrats and less with other parties. I would never recommend completely ignoring an entire population of voters, but you can spend less of your resources trying to turn out those not likely to vote for you in races where you have such a large partisan advantage.
Having voter information allows you to identify those advantage districts, target your outreach efforts to the right households, determine where to place yard signs, and where to send volunteers to get the message out.
Types of Voter Data and Their Sources
Basic Voter Files
These are files that are kept by your local or state voting authority. These are the official voter rolls, with information obtained through voter registration documents. These are the most reliable files with the most up-to-date information, but they are also the files with the least amount of data because they collect only the most necessary info. The information included in a basic file are the items mentioned at the top of this article.
Enhanced voter files
These are files that have been enhanced with information that goes beyond the basic information. This includes databases used by political parties, commercial data providers, and constituent associations.
Commercial providers like L2 and TargetSmart make available additional information like:
- Consumer data
- Social media information
- Demographic modelings
- Economic data
- and issue-based information like whether the person is likely to own a gun license, or whether they might be progressive or conservative on the issues.
Political party voter files
Major political parties maintain sophisticated databases that include additional information like:
- Voter contact history
- Issue preferences
- Campaign interaction records
- Level of support for specific candidates
- Phone banking results
- Email responses
- Social media engagement
How to Get a List of Voters for Your District
The type of voter information you might need is largely dependent on the type of race you are running. Smaller races usually require basic information, while larger races might provide the resources to obtain more sophisticated data and the staff to perform more targeted voter strategies.
Where to obtain basic voter files
If you’re running locally in a small district, you are likely aware of the socio-economic factors in your race and extra commercial information might be superfluous to your efforts. In these cases, having a basic voter file will be all you need. It will also be the least expensive to obtain. In many cases, you can get your county or state voter file at no cost or for a nominal fee. Pennsylvania makes the voter file available at the cost of around $20 and you can get all 67 counties or just a single county. They make the file available via digital download. Local counties will sometimes give you a disk or digital download for free when you register as a local candidate. Some will give you printed street lists. Others charge a nominal fee for printing the pages you need or preparing a special list based on the districts you select.
In these cases, check with your local county voting office. You can likely purchase the file online and get an instant download. If it’s not available at your county, go one level up and check with the state’s voter agency.
Where to obtain party voter files
Party voter files are usually sold by software companies that work with specific political parties, or through the political party directly. Access to these files are typically sold at a flat fee on a per-record basis. A few pennies a record, as an example. Access to a district with 10,000 voters might cost you $500.
Check with your local neighborhood political committees. If you’re not sure who that is, do a quick web search. If a local committee doesn’t exist, move up a level to your county. Some county committees are not active, in which case you can move to your state party. Every major party and most minor parties have a statewide group that advocates on their behalf. Run a web search for [state name] political party and you should find it pretty quickly. Call and ask how you can get access to the voter file.
Where to obtain enhanced voter files
There are many private companies that offer this data for sale and the data provided can differ between them. Companies like Catalyst, L2, TargetSmart are reputable sources of enhanced voter files.
Enhanced voter files can get much more expensive and are typically charged based on the amount of information per record and the total number of records you require. They have been know to cost as much as $2 per record (sometimes more) for several points of data like confirmed cell phones, email addresses, consumer preferences, levels of income, memberships or subscriptions, etc. This information can be helpful when trying to reach certain constituencies. For example, say you’re running on a platform of 2nd amendment rights – specifically the right to bare arms. You might purchase an enhanced voter file that includes a list of gun license holders or registered gun owners.
Constituent and Partner Lists
Issue-based advocacy groups will often keep their own lists and update it with data points relevant to their organization. Labor organizations do this, nonprofits do this, and many other associations will make their contact lists available to candidates who are on the same side of the issues. If there are specific issues that you are running on, take some time to make a list of potential partner organizations that feel the same way you do on those issues, then reach out to find out if they’re willing to share information about their members. Some might not give you the data directly, but might be willing to send their constituents information about your campaign.
Build Your Own List
At the very least, make sure to get the basic voter file and put it into your own database that you can edit and track. You can use something like the Political Campaign Planner to help you track and edit your own data as the campaign progresses.
You can update your voter file with information from:
- Community events
- Website signups
- Social media followers
- email responses
Remember, having voter data is just the beginning – it’s what you do with it that counts. In my years of campaign management, I’ve seen data-driven campaigns consistently outperform those running on gut instinct alone. I’ve seen campaigns with a very narrow path to victory beat well-funded incumbents by making smarter use of data. Anything is possible if you have the right data, the right message, and the resources to get that message to the right voters.
But don’t let the numbers overwhelm you. Start with the basics, build your understanding, and soon you’ll be slicing and dicing voter data like a campaign pro!
