Election day coverage
The get out the vote plan that survives 6am
On the DC campaign, election day meant 74 voting sites opening at 6am. Each needed three shifts.
The whole thing ran on a pool of 268 people who had just worked 14 days of early voting. Every scheduling debt came due in one morning. This page is the plan for that morning.
Three rules hold the day together
Rule one: overstaff the morning at 120 percent
The 6am shift has the most no-shows and the least time to fix them. A hole at 6am stays open through the morning rush, when most people vote.
So book the first shift at 120 percent of what you need. Let the extra people move to gaps once you see who came. On the grid that is one extra person per opening shift, planned in October.
Rule two: hold a ward-based reserve
Keep five to ten reliable people per area unbooked on purpose. Release them as holes appear. This only works if your records are real, which is why you log attendance at every canvass and phone bank from August on.
The panel ranks your reserve by who has worked each site. So the person you send at 7am has stood at that table before.
Rule three: run the night-before check from the report
A gap you can see at 9pm Monday is one text away from being filled. The same gap at 6am Tuesday is a hole.
Monday's evening report lists every open shift with the best people to ask. Working through it takes about an hour. This report is why we built the product.
The day itself runs on the gap panel
From 6am the job is triage. Site captains text who showed up. An organizer marks the no-shows. The gap panel re-ranks right away, for everyone.
The 7am email lands with the opening picture: coverage by ward, open gaps, and yesterday's no-shows flagged as risks. From there your reserve does the work, and the grid answers the only question that matters all day: are we covered right now?
Campaigns that get this day right did not get lucky. They logged attendance in September. They built the reserve in October. They read the gap report Monday night. All three start with putting the program on the grid early.
Poll watchers, greeters, and GOTV shifts
A poll watcher observes voting for a party or candidate. In many states, poll watchers must be named in writing ahead of time. The rules differ by state, so check with your state or county election office.
A greeter stands outside the no-campaigning zone and hands out sample ballots. A get out the vote shift is any shift that helps supporters vote: greeters, rides, calls, and door knocks.
Election day questions
What does a poll watcher do?
A poll watcher observes voting at a site for a party or candidate. The rules for who can serve and what they can do differ by state.
What is get out the vote?
Get out the vote, or GOTV, is the last push to make sure your supporters vote. It means reminders, rides, and calls in the final days, plus coverage at the voting sites.
How many volunteers will you need?
Enter your sites and dates. You get your number in seconds and a shift plan to download. No sign-up.
Check how many volunteers you need, free