What you can do to help win the election in 5 easy steps

A huge, emotion filled U.S. presidential election is upon us and I do not think I need to tell you what is at stake. Instead, I want to try and help you have a chance at being a bit more effective when encountering people who are not decided or who are not as likely to vote as you or me. 

Lesson One: Harbor no illusion of political similarity about people around you. Because some seem to share much of your cultural touchstones, go to church with you, do similar work, or engage in similar activities is no reason to assume that they regularly vote, or vote at all, or that they share your view of what candidates and political parties stand for. 

Even recently Isabel and I have come across older, accomplished adults who say they never get involved in politics and are proud, for some odd reason, that they do not vote. If a person is dedicated to such a position, don’t waste your time trying to convince him to vote. Elections are won by those who get the most votes only from those who turn out to vote.

Lesson Two: Presidential election turnout is the largest by far as many Americans only cast a ballot in a presidential cycle. Turning more of those folk out to vote is key to the success of both political parties. An undecided, or soft on opinion, person in that group is worth your time, often a lot of your time, all the way through Election Day. 

It is worth talking with uncertain voters, uncertain both in candidate selection and intent to cast a ballot, and gently persuading them that voting, and doing so for our more conservative candidate, is in their personal best interest. 

Lesson Three: Non-politically active people most often do not need to hear about the ideological underpinnings of your conservative convictions that motivate you. These people mostly need to have a practical, everyday reason to vote for a particular candidate. They are often unable to fit these motivating factors into the larger philosophical puzzle of conservative versus liberal or leftist, so leave that alone. 

The extra tide of voters that leads to Electoral College wins comes from people who believe their immediate fears and troubles might be relieved by electing a certain candidate. 

Yes, as philosophical conservatives we tend to recoil at this type of thing but we must remember that we have to meet voters intellectually where they are, not where we wish they were. And, we need to remember that this is not always shallow reasoning as some presidents have indeed pushed through massive changes that solved horrible problems for Americans – Ronald Reagan delivered on stopping runaway inflation that was killing the American Dream. 

Lesson Four: Find an issue, like inflation, that is hurting the potential voter and let that person tell you about it and how it is making life hard for him. Then, after hearing the person affirm that such is a serious personal issue, explain in simple terms how, in this case, a vote for Donald Trump will most likely lead to a solution to the problem. (It is important the person tell you the issue is a serious problem for him or her as opposed to you telling the person it is a problem and simply obtaining agreement.) 

Often the argument of cause and effect can be suggested. If, for example, inflation is a top concern for the person, ask the person what sense it makes to further empower the people who brought us the high rate of inflation? Give them the inflation rate under Trump’s first term and compare that to what Harris/Biden economic policies have wrought. (7.8% CPI increase over Trump’s four years, an average or 1.9% per year; 19.2% CPI increase under Biden with gasoline prices up 46%!)* 

For many irregular voters all it takes is solidly linking one issue they find harmful to their lives to a particular candidate – either as a positive of it getting solved or as a negative of it becoming worse. 

Remember, if the person is not someone you regularly encounter, discipline yourself to obtain at least one reliable way to contact the person again – a telephone number, address, workplace – just something that will allow you to make further contact. Keep a list of these people and their concerns on your phone, notepad, spreadsheet, or whatever works for you. 

Lesson Five is an area in which Republicans have, in general, done a poor job and yet it is the most important: Keep track of that voter you met and spoke with and contact them several times leading up to the election reinforcing how important it is for them to vote. Sometimes the contact can just be a friendly offer to answer any questions about things they may have heard about the election and candidates since you last spoke. 

When early voting begins, you should take your list of the one or two people with whom you’ve had these mild conversations (for some of you it will be dozens) and then get them to the polls. 

Call, text, email, or visit them in person, and encourage them to vote from the first day of early voting through the day of the election. If possible, go pick them up and take them to the polls. 

Too many activists, as well as some candidates, waste very limited time and energy trying to make the big sale to someone who is committed to another point of view. Once in a long while a victory of this sort will happen but it is rare and usually is something to which the other person comes on their own – a sort of political epiphany. Remember the maxim: A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still. Don’t waste time and energy with such people during the limited time of election season; you can work on them at other times. 

The way to turn in an electoral tidal wave is to beat the other side handily at getting more occasional voters to show up and vote for your candidate. This is best done with one on one personal contact with voters who are within your work and cultural orbit – there are lot more of these people than you realize. Get started now.