CONTACT: Jordan Wilhelmi | 612.281.2310 | [email protected]
Engaging Low Propensity, Low Information Voters, Progressive Turnout Project Can Add 30,000+ Dem Voters in WI
WISCONSIN – Today, the Progressive Turnout Project (PTP), a grassroots-funded organization dedicated to getting Democratic voters to the polls, unveiled its comprehensive state voter profile for Wisconsin, one of the 16 battleground states they’re targeting with a $45 million investment in get-out-the-vote efforts. PTP’s intensive six-month canvassing program, which begins in May, will engage low propensity, low information Democratic voters who the Party has struggled to reach in key swing states ahead of the 2020 election. The investment is part of the largest grassroots-funded field program this cycle.
The Wisconsin voter profile lays out PTP’s blueprint for Democratic turnout success in the state in 2020 by looking at what the previous two election cycles illustrate, including historical data for 2016 and 2018 overall voter turnout, measured alongside total turnout for PTP’s target pool of infrequent Democratic voters in the state.
VIEW WISCONSIN VOTER PROFILE HERE: https://www.turnoutpac.org/
In 2016, the turnout of PTP’s infrequent Democratic voter pool in Wisconsin was only 55 percent, 12 percent less than the overall turnout in the state. And in 2018, it was only 47 percent, 15 percent less than the overall turnout. The turnout deficit among PTP’s voter pool highlights a glaring opportunity to target those disengaged, low information voters in an effort to shrink, and possibly overcome, the Party’s overall turnout decline witnessed in 2016.
According to PTP’s data, 19 percent of its targeted voter pool in Wisconsin, despite being registered, have not voted at all in the last two elections, totaling over 59,000 infrequent Democratic voters forgoing to participate entirely.
To close that deficit, PTP will employ its intensive, canvass-focused approach, with a target of speaking with over 300,000 infrequent Democratic voters in Wisconsin. In 2018’s midterms, PTP’s model increased state-by-state turnout by an average of 10.4 percent among its voter pool. If they are able to achieve that average increase in Wisconsin for 2020, PTP projects it can turnout 30,409 more Democratic voters this cycle. By itself, this turnout increase will allow Democrats to overcome the 22,748 margin of victory for Trump in Wisconsin in 2016.
Furthermore, the turnout increase in PTP’s voter pool enables Democrats the best chance at competing and winning across the ballot in key statehouse races like the SD08, SD32, SD18, SD30, among others.
“Our unique ability to target and engage low propensity, low information voters will be pivotal to unleashing the untapped potential of the Democratic Party’s largest voting blocs, including people of color, women, and young people, that have failed to come out in full force since 2008,” said Progressive Turnout Project’s executive director Alex Morgan. “Getting on the ground early and often, focusing on disenchanted voters, having an authentic conversation about why their vote matters, and following up until they commit to vote, is the way you win in Wisconsin, where only a couple thousand votes could tip the outcome.”
The Wisconsin profile also includes an interactive map with county-by-county data on PTP’s target voter pool, including the total number of target voters in each county, average turnout %, average age, the percentage of voters with a college education level, and the average income percentile for that county in the state.
Using predictive analytics, PTP is able to identify those high concentrations of infrequent Democratic voters — weighing vote history, demographic information, and consumer data to identify a voter’s likelihood to turnout and vote for Democrats. 23.74% of PTP’s targeted voters in Wisconsin identify as people of color, 22.02% are under the age of 35, and 57.49% are women.
With PTP’s in-depth, canvass-focused approach, including field offices in Milwaukee, Racine/Kenosha, Madison, La Crosse, and Appleton, they will employ 73 staff to knock on 858,000 doors and engage with those low propensity and low information voters in Wisconsin from May until Election Day.
In 2018, PTP’s efforts increased turnout from infrequent Democratic voters across 18 battleground House districts, culminating in 15 victories in the midterms.
If you’d be interested in speaking further with the Progressive Turnout Project about Wisconsin comprehensive state voter profile and how they plan to reach the target turnout rate needed for Democratic success in 2020, let me know and I’d be happy to arrange a phone call.
