Hoala Greevy
In 2020 we set a lofty goal of achieving 100% voter turnout in the general election. At the time, we had 25 employees working remotely in about a dozen states. As it would turn out, we were able to reach 100% voter turnout that year.
Fast forward to this year’s midterm elections, we again set an audacious goal of 100% voter turnout on November 8th, general election day. This year we have 61 employees in two dozen states.
This post is about the playbook we used and how we ended at 100% voter turnout again in 2022. I am elated with our voter participation.
See related: Why voting matters to me
Add General Election Day to Holiday Calendar
As we did in 2020, we knew adding general election day to our holiday calendar was a proven method to boost turnout and signal its importance to staff.
We did the same this year for November 8th.
We also know not every state makes it easy to vote by mail, so making the day a holiday is indeed important.
Frequent Consistent Messaging
As we crossed the 50 employee threshold, we added a People Ops department and asked Becky Hathaway to help lead it.
As summer began and created an OKR around it, Becky graciously agreed to take the reins in frequent consistent messaging to staff around three themes:
- Are you registered to vote?
- We don’t care who you vote for. We care that you vote.
- We expect 100% voter turnout.
We did something similar in 2020. I recommend doing this step.
Send Simple Surveys
As we did in 2020, we got a head start and sent a simple survey to staff this summer:
- Are you registered to vote?
- How are you going to vote? (By mail / In person / I’m not going to vote)
Keeping with the tone of consistent messaging, we carefully noted to staff we didn’t care who they vote for, we care that they vote. The survey was also anonymous.
In addition, we tracked down resources for our remote staff on how to register to vote in their respective state.
Note: Texas still does not make it easy to vote by mail.
Assemble a Skeleton Crew for Election Day
Since the general election is not a federal holiday yet, we had to assemble a skeleton crew to work on November 8th (Tuesday).
As fate would have it, three of our staff were in Miami that day at a regional conference.
We made sure to communicate to everyone who worked that day they could take a day off at their choosing at a later date.
Post Election Survey
Soon after the election, we sent out an anonymous one-question survey to staff:
- Did you vote?
Using the honor system, here are the final results:
- 61 employees total
- 3 employees ineligible to vote
- 58 of 58 eligible staff voted (100%)
This year we learned that while our full time employees remain 100% U.S. based, some were not eligible to vote in this election cycle.
Overall, we feel our 100% voter turnout in 2022 is an additional data point reflecting the stance we are are leaders, not followers. This principle is part of the Paubox Foundations.
Enjoy the rest of our staff pics!
