DuPage County Election Commission
INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS
DuPage County, Illinois, was among the counties
statewide mandated to launch a new type of voter
initiative by the March 2006 primary election.
In August 2005, the Illinois Legislature passed
a bill requiring all Illinois counties to offer
early voting to registered voters. The concept
allows registered voters to cast ballots during
a specified window before the official Election
Day. Unlike absentee ballots, early voting simply
requires voters to provide a valid, government-issued
ID card at one of the designated early voting sites — no
special circumstances or excuses needed. Other
municipalities around the U.S. found the process
helped boost voter turnout by making the process
more convenient.
The need
Because the early voting initiative would be
a first in Illinois, DuPage County Election Commission
(DCEC) officials retained Hodge Schindler to
help spread the word to the public and the media
through a targeted PR and marketing effort that
would use all aspects of our skill sets. And
because of delays in approving program expenditures,
we were unable to begin work until nine weeks
before the scheduled start of early voting in
late February 2006.
Our approach
After researching early voting programs in other
states, we devised a multi-prong approach using
passive and active elements:
- Logo and tagline development: “Early Voting.
Your Choice. Your Time.”
- Developed a media list for release distribution
about early Voting in DuPage County.
- Wrote copy for the DuPage County Election Commission
Web site touting Early Voting and the Early Voting
hotline.
- Wrote a letter promoting early Voting, sent to
officials in towns in DuPage County.
- Designed a button for voters who voted early.
- Wrote and designed a brochure explaining the concept
and polling places that was distributed throughout
DuPage County.
- Designed a postcard that was mailed to more than
320,000 registered voters.
- Created a half-page ad that ran in a regional newspaper.
- Coordinated interviews between DuPage County officials
and local print and broadcast media.
- Distributed a 17-minute public-service interview
with the DCEC president to local cable channels.
The outcomes
Having met all of our internal and external deadlines,
the campaign to promote Early Voting in DuPage
County was a measurable success. more than 8,400
registered voters visited the 10 Early Voting
sites during the period before the March 2006
primary election. The turnout in DuPage County
was significantly higher than in surrounding
counties with similar population statistics.
According to surveys of early voters, more than
10 percent heard about the program through the
Early Voting postcard, while more than 500 people
called the special hotline for more information.
(About 5 percent found out about Early Voting
in DuPage County through articles in local newspapers.)
DuPage County Election Commission officials were
so pleased with the results that they expanded
the program to include more Early Voting sites
for the 2006 general election and added other
promotional and educational efforts to ensure
every registered voter was aware of the program.
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