Pilot Project Aims to Reach Out to Drop-Off Voters in North Carolina  ... >
May 5, 2014 - Yvette Lewis, president of the Voter Empowerment Action Project and chairwoman of the Maryland Democratic Party, held a press conference to announce Voter Connect, "a program to 'connect voters in blue states with voters in red states' and preserve voting rights."
 
The initial phase of Voter Empowerment Action Project's Voter Connect will focus on connecting Maryland voters with targeted voters in North Carolina, where Lewis is originally from.  Lewis said the objective is to reach the "rising American electorate," including young people, members of minority groups, women and rural voters, people who she said will be affected by the major elections reform bill Gov. Pat McCrory (R-NC) signed into law on Aug. 12, 2013.  The law includes provisions such as reduced early voting, elimination of same day registration, elimination of straight ticket voting, and voter ID to take effect in 2016.  "We want to make sure that everyone participates," Lewis said.

The North Carolina program is effectively "a large scale field experiment," and based on what Lewis learns she hopes to expand it to other states.  The Mellman Group will have a major role in the North Carolina program.  Using list matching and modelling, voters at risk will be identified.  Messages will be developed.  Several approaches to reach the voters will then be tested, including mail, online (mobile and desktop advertising and YouTube videos), and both mail and online; there will also be a randomized control group that is not contacted.  The extent of the effort will depend on how much money Lewis is able to raise; the Voter Empowerment Action Project is organized as a 501(c)(4).   Mark Mellman, CEO of the Mellman Group; and Karl Sanstrom, senior counsel with Pekins Cole, joined Lewis for the announcement.
Veteran pollster Mark Mellman.
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