Increasing Voter Turn Out: Nonprofit Partnerships in Political Campaigns

One of the most important roles you will play as a public relations professional working in political campaigns is engaging with the public and your candidate to increase voter turnout. When working on a campaign, there is a lot of work that needs to be done–not only to encourage the public to vote for your candidate but also to encourage them to vote in general. You will also spend a lot of time identifying the segments of the public that did not vote in previous elections and need to be targeted. The good news is that you may not have to do this alone. There are a variety of nonprofits that specialize in encouraging certain demographics to vote, regardless of their political affiliation.  

On non-profit in particular that has been doing great work in this arena for the past few years is TurnUp. TurnUp focuses on encouraging youth to vote in local and national elections. It is an organization run by youth, for youth. With over 5,000 youth organizers and 20,000 young volunteers, TurnUp hosts early voter registration drives to make voter registration more accessible and works on digital campaigns to stress the importance of young voices in elections at all levels.   

One of the most unique aspects of TurnUp is its app. The TurnUp app utilizes various features to encourage youth voting and help young people get involved in politics. Within the app, users can see when and where events like registration drives are taking place across the nation. In addition to this feature, users can also connect with other youth activists in their area, fostering a stronger network of young people interested in politics and civic participation. The app also provides a variety of educational resources for those who want to know more about civic participation, not only surrounding voting issues but also in other important areas of policy, such as immigration, LGBTQIA+ rights, and gun violence.  

As a nonprofit, TurnUp is doing significant work to encourage youth voting and youth civic engagement in elections at all levels. As a PR professional working in political campaigns, partnering with – and even being aware of – groups like TurnUp can help increase voting participation in your own campaign. Even though TurnUp is a non-partisan organization, it could be extremely beneficial for you and your candidate to be aware of their goals, as they may also align with yours. Working alongside nonprofits, especially ones that can help make your job easier, while benefiting your campaign is a crucial part of being able to bring sucess to your candidate.