Is Arkansas Ready To VoterUp?

Are local political campaigns ready for the next technological leap?

LobbyUp, the Arkansas-based online bill tracking service, has been experimenting with its latest product known as VoterUp, a campaign management tool that could simplify voter canvassing, improve get-out-the-vote efforts, and strengthen how information can give candidates an advantage in close races.

“We built it to be scalable to any campaign. It gives just as much of an advantage to someone running for a JP position, walking neighborhoods on their own or with a statewide race, coordinating extensive ground operations with layers of managers, staffers and volunteers,” said Bradley Phillips, president of LobbyUp and VoterUp.

The new campaign tool takes the voter files of 1.8 million Arkansans available to the public from the Secretary of State’s office and “geo-codes” them — in short, integrates that database with a virtual map of the state. With a defined population of voters, a campaign can identify specific voters with pinpoints on a map, then assign paid or volunteer staffers with a smart phone or tablet and send them out into the field to gather more knowledge about voters’ preferences.

With that information, a candidate’s campaign can phone bank with better information, target its direct mail in an integrated fashion, identify campaign sign distribution and save that information for future races in a simplified program.

“It really eliminates clipboards and paperwork and manual data entry that could be prone to errors,” Phillips explains. “It also allows a campaign to see the data in real time as the information is entered from the field.”

For instance, if John Smith is running for Hot Spring County sheriff in the Democratic primary, VoterUp can identify frequent voters in that county’s primary. The Smith campaign can take 10 volunteers and assign neighborhoods in the county for walking door-to-door.

Volunteer Suzie logs in to VoterUp on her smartphone and takes off with her door-to-door assignments.

As she asks a voter who he will vote for, she can also ask if crime is an important issue in the community. Another question would indicate if the voter would be willing to put a “Smith for Sheriff” sign in his yard. Using her touchscreen to check a box, Suzie’s information (and answers collected from other canvassers) populate the campaign’s database and build a map to show where the next phase of the campaign needs to reach this specific voter.

When it comes time to put up yard signs, the list is complete. When direct mail is scheduled, a piece could be tailored with information collected from the door-to-door efforts. During early voting and on Election Day, the campaign’s targeted voters are identified and can be called through phone banks.

All of the data can be mapped and stored for future use in a general election or subsequent re-election bid for the candidate.

But the program can also be utilized by campaign consultants on a wider scale.

For instance, if political consultant Jane Jones uses VoterUp in 7 legislative campaigns this year, she may want to ask a question about a public policy issue, such as taxes, abortion or school choice. In future elections, Jane will have a database from the past that indicates a specific voter’s preferences on issues that may be friendly to future causes or campaigns.

Trade associations or lobbying groups with agendas could also sell or donate data from its members to campaigns or campaign consultants it deems friendly to its issues.  In the VoterUp program, that information could be integrated with a candidate’s campaign to maximize voter contact.

An example would be if John Smith picked up the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police. The FOP data in Hot Spring County would populate  in the “Smith for Sheriff” database providing the campaign with an immediate target for yard signs, direct mail and door-to-door contact.

A legislative race could use this tool to connect with retired teachers, union workers, or pro-life activists.

“I think this will eventually move to a model where we are managing individual servers for county committees and groups of candidates who want to gather and store layer upon layer of voter data over time,” Phillips said.

He also contends the VoterUp program is very affordable. He plans to market VoterUp on service plans ranging from $200-$350 a month, depending on the size of the campaign.

Built initially for Arkansas campaigns, he sees the product having appeal outside of the state as well.

“All of the Arkansas geo-coding was done on the front end, allowing us to offer a pre-packaged product to Arkansans at a lower price. Our system will work identically for candidates in other states, given a few days lead time to prepare the campaign data,” he said.

Phillips said the new VoterUp tool will be ready for public consumption on March 5th. With 135 House and Senate races up for grabs, as well as judicial, Congressional and local races, he’s hoping the public’s comfort with its smart devices will make using VoterUp a pretty natural adaptation.

“With LobbyUp, we’ve got 70-year olds running around the capitol with an iPad, and with VoterUp, we’ve kept that same simplistic interface,” said Phillips. “If you can surf the Internet on an iPhone or use the touchscreen on your tablet, you can campaign for your candidate using VoterUp.”

For more information, visit VoterUp.com.