ProChoice IdEA: A Technique that Works Nancy Yanofsky ProChoice Resource Center Mamaromeck, New York ProChoice IdEA is the vehicle by which a group can Identify, Educate and Activate the pro-choice supporters in a given geo-political area. The acronym IdEA sums up its method: it provides pro-choice groups and coalitions with techniques and strategies on how to Identify sympathetic pro-choice supporters in the grass roots. Educate them about the issues; and Activate them to volunteer, lobby, speak out, teach others, protest, demonstrate, write their elected officials--and vote. ProChoice IdEA provides framework through which grassroots groups can approach the issue of choice and related reproductive health care matters. Recognizing that each community is unique in its political culture and has its own particular set of requirements necessary to effect change within that culture, the ProChoice Resource Center helps groups assess how to turn reproductive rights into a "bottom line" issue and create real change in their communities. Using this system, grassroots groups take lists of registered voters, develop a pro-choice questionnaire to canvass (typically by phone) each name on the list in order to identify supporters, and ultimately compile an extensive pro- choice database. It bypasses the filter of the news media and the rhetoric of campaign propaganda by going directly to people in their homes. The identified pro-choice supporters are continually educated about the issues by mailing alerts, newsletters, public forums, etc. and are made aware of challenges to reproductive freedom. Then these supporters are activated by phone, fax, mailings, voting guides, etc. to stand watch and act on choice year-round--and to vote the issue at election time. The value of a pro-choice database lies in its many uses It can make the grassroots major players in state and local politics. Any group armed with a significant computerized list of constituent supporters has the ability to influence public opinion. Politicians and other public officials know very well the power and clout of groups that have such a list. It indicates a high level of public support for reproductive freedom, and puts heat on legislators to actively support reproductive rights. It supplies grassroots groups (and candidates) with a constituency for rallies, events and year-round public education on local, state and federal legislation. It provides a list of pro-choice supporters, especially women, for who choice is a bottom-line, defining issue. It provides a mailing list for voting guides, educational materials, action and legislative alerts, funding appeals, persuasion pieces, and a list for get-out-the-vote calls near election day. It gives grassroots groups (and candidates) access to potential donors and volunteers. This is exactly what grassroots groups need to secure reproductive freedom. Academics agree. According to Debra Dodson of the Center for the American Woman and Politics "[One cannot] assume voters are able to connect their abstract concern about abortion policy to the specific choices between candidates on election day. Even voters who hold strong consistent views about abortion policy must be educated every single election season and for each race where it matters, otherwise they may be unaware that candidates differ over abortion policy or that these differences matter.") A study of the 1992 Presidential election by Alan Abramowitz of Emory University confirms the efficacy of the approach behind this program. Abramowitz found that abortion was the second best predictor of voting preference, after party affiliation, among voters who could identify candidates' positions. However, among those voters who were unaware of the positions of the presidential candidates, he discovered that there was no significant correlation between voters' positions and their voting preferences. In sum, those who don't know the candidates' positions on abortion don't necessarily vote for the candidate who agrees with them. How can they? Both these studies point to the crucial role played by this project. Polls show that the majority of Americans who are pro-choice don't by themselves change public policy. But identified, educated and activated pro-choice supporters do. With the right tools--i.e., an up-to-date database, a corps of volunteers, phones, mailing lists and voting guides--policy makers need never be forced to guess what "pro-choice" really means, nor how the pro-choice community feels about including abortion services in a national health care package. Neither can elected officials forget how they got where they are. The inability of a seemingly pro-choice Congress to repeal the Hyde Amendment indicates that the pro-choice community needs to be more diligent about who is allowed to use the politically powerful pro-choice label. Clearly, it is time for the pro-choice grass roots to say: There is no free lunch. If you want our support, you must support us and this kind of project provides the wherewithal for that to happen. But this is not just for use at election time. To truly protect reproductive freedom, this project must function throughout the year. The list of supporters who have been identified provides the means to move a pro-choice agenda forward once pro-choice officials are in office. A grassroots group can use its clout to ensure accessibility, accountability and, most importantly, action from elected officials on a full reproductive rights agenda. Starting an IdEA Project 1. An organizational structure must be established, that is, an organization, an organizational name and a governing body. While this structure does not have to be elaborate or "official," it is important for phoners to be able to identify the organization conducting the canvass. This lends credibility to the canvass and also helps get the organization's name out into the community. 2. You need a computer (at least a 386, and preferably a 486 or one that is even more powerful). You also need a database program, a person (or persons) to do data entry, and whenever possible, a computer consultant who you can call on for assistance. 3. The project needs a coordinator or co-coordinators. Although a project of this type is not difficult, and in many ways embodies the essence of grassroots organizing, there must be someone who knows what is happening at all times, who can recognize glitches--and solve them, and who can keep track of who is doing what, when, and who needs to be doing what when 4. The project needs a core of dedicated volunteers and/or paid staff who will make the project happen. People are needed to write the canvass questionnaires, code and tabulate the results, make phone calls, answer questions, write voting guides--and mail them, organize and attend events, help with fundraising, oversee a letter-writing campaign--and find other volunteers to do the same. 5. You need a place from which to conduct a phone bank. 6. You need a fundraising plan--so that there is money to educate and activate the pro-choice supporters that have been identified, so that there is money to keep your lists up-to-date, and so that you can continue to identify registered voters. New people move into the area you Id'd, other people move out and hopefully, you will increase the geo-political sphere you decide to canvass. Identifying Pro-Choice Supporters Identifying pro-choice supporters is neither difficult nor magical. It is the result of conducting a systematic phone canvass of registered voters in a given geo-political area. The ProChoice Resource Center offers sample canvass questionnaires and coding sheets and can give your organization technical assistance in tailoring those materials to fit your needs. To conduct a canvass you will need phoners: volunteers, paid staff and/or a telemarketing firm, a phone bank and phone captains. Lists of registered voters are available on computer disk or tape and most often can be brought from the local Board of Elections. Your organization must then determine when it wants to conduct the canvass questionnaire. As a general rule, the best time to canvass is in the evenings, from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Most people are home at that time and despite what you have heard, do not mind being interrupted to answer a short questionnaire, particularly when callers identify themselves politely, say that there are no personal questions, and that the call will not take more than a few minutes. And, when you find that someone will not answer the questionnaire because they are busy, ask if there is a more convenient time that you can call back. It is important to train the phoners at least half hour prior to each phone bank so that they become comfortable with the script (i.e., they can read it easily and naturally) and are prepared to fill out the coding sheet for each call they make. The people you identify in these calls are the people who will receive your educational and fundraising materials. These are the people who will become activists for your organization. These are the people who you will count on: volunteer, lobby, attend forums, fund-raise--and vote. Because an accurate, up-to-date list is central to all of your other activities, it is critical that the list be maintained. A hidden benefit of spending money on mailings is that it inevitably generates a mass of returned mail. Since we live in a mobile society, it is common to have about 10% of your mailing returned from the post office, labeled "return to sender," "addressee unknown," or "note new address". However, don't be discouraged, you will use these rejected parcels to clean your lists (and prevent you from making the same mistake twice). Some organizations hire a company to maintain their lists while other maintains their list "in-house." This is often determined by the organization's size, database, software capacity and available financial and organizational resources. Educating Your Identified Supporters In every training or workshop given by the Center, the E component of IdEA is stressed as being a crucial stage of the project. Year-round communication with supporters, the media, and the general public is essential if IdEA is to be effective. The list of supporters, therefore, has another function, aside from being a list to call. It is used for one of the most home-spun--and effective--tools of grassroots organizing: a mailing list. Once entered into the computer, the list can be converted into mailing labels, which groups use to keep in touch with, and therefore educate, supporters. Remember: an informed group of supporters will effect the most change. Mailing labels can be used on a variety of educational materials, all designed to advance the pro-choice agenda. The Center can provide a variety of materials to pass along to supporters, including a quarterly newsletter that can be copied and distributed, articles about upcoming issues, information about the pro-choice movement; and action alerts. Aside from the materials the Center provides, groups should use the wealth of their own material. Educational strategies include: Mailing voting guides at election time. Mailing fliers or invitations for rallies, lobbying days and important votes in legislative bodies. Background brochures or "white papers" on new issues such as health care, minor access, parental consent, mandatory delays, and the opposition. Background information and brochures on clinic-defense training and clinic defense. Sending a compilation of articles from local papers. Mailing invitations to house parties where speakers inform groups about issues and enlist volunteers. Organizing town meetings or public forums with a local/regional/national panel of experts. In addition to the supporters a group already knows about, groups must also work with the media to generate coverage of issues which can hopefully reach a wider audience. Groups can also: Hold reporters' briefings to educate the media about issues. Arrange editorial board meetings to challenge/encourage newspapers to take a pro-choice editorial stand. Buy paid advertising space to assure that the message remains intact. The last (and most elusive) group to reach directly is the general public. While media outreach efforts help, groups also need to prepare fliers and brochures to pass out to the general public at rallies and meetings. As you can see, education is a key part of this strategy. It is the bridge to what is perhaps the heart of IdEA--activation. Activating Your Supporters and Keeping Them Involved Keeping supporters involved and motivated is the most difficult--and most rewarding--element of this strategy. While having an informed group of identified pro-choice supporters is essential, what those supporters do with the knowledge is what will protect reproductive freedom. At election time, the identified supporters are the easiest to activate. Supporters understand the importance of making sure the pro-choice candidate wins or that an anti-choice ballot initiative loses. And, elections are time- bound, so supporters realize the "campaign" mentality they must adopt. At the very least, during elections, activation is voting--and making sure others vote. For the more committed supporters at election time, activation is attending and asking questions at candidate forums, volunteering at a phone bank to get-out-the-vote, and poll watching. Between election cycles, however, activating a constituency and creating a lobbying bloc is usually more difficult. Yet on-going activism is crucial to keeping pressure on elected officials; it is the only way to keep leaders honest when it comes time to vote on tough issues. Because the anti-abortion opposition has become so masterful at grassroots lobbying with direct mail, cable television, and fundamentalist church networks, the pro-choice community needs to re-double its efforts to protect reproductive freedom. Regular newsletters, telephone trees, phone banks and action alerts are important activation tools. And as technology becomes more widely available, computer networks and bulletin boards will enhance these efforts. To keep policy makers informed and aware of the fierce pro-choice constituency in their districts, grassroots groups need to activate supporters to: Write letters and make phone calls to elected officials Attend meetings with local leaders and with state and federal legislators Write letters to the editors and op-ed pieces Attend rallies, forums and workshops Monitor school board meetings--and speak out and distribute literature Volunteer for IdEA projects Organize forums and invite speakers Donate money to local pro-choice organizations Hold fundraisers or house parties Defend clinics Monitor the opposition's activities by attending their meetings and getting on their mailing lists. Conclusion In November 1992, reaping the rewards of years of organizing, 500 candidates supported by fundamentalist organizations ran in elections from school board to President of the United States--and they won with a success rate of 40 percent. Without the effective counter force of programs like Pro-Choice IdEA, however, their success would have been greater. Groups that used ProChoice IdEA in the November 1992 elections have said they were able to defeat anti-choice candidates by a margin of 14 percent by identifying pro-choice supporters, talking to them in a compelling and personal way, educating them and activating them to support pro-choice values with their votes and voices. Pro-choice grassroots groups won 54% of elections in which they were involved, and identified nearly 900,000 pro-choice supporters across the country who were interested in changing the political landscape and protecting reproductive freedom. While results from November 1992 prove that programs like Pro-Choice IdEA are crucial for protecting reproductive freedom, grassroots leaders have learned that many anti-choice candidates evade the issue of reproductive freedom, especially radical right candidates. This makes it crucial to talk to supporters early and often. Research proves that in an election, whichever side frames the debate on tough issues has an advantage. The overwhelming success of Pro-Choice projects proves they are a necessary tool for grassroots groups to use in framing the debate honestly and accurately in terms of women and women's health. In doing so, Americans will be able to understand what is at stake in a particular election. And they will be able to block the opposition from achieving its goal of denying women the constitutional human and civil right to reproductive freedom. =================================================== How to Win: A Practical Guide for Defeating the Radical Right in Your Community Copyright 1994 by Radical Right Task Force Permission is granted to reproduce this publication in whole or in part. All other rights reserved. For more information contact: Pat Lewis National Jewish Democratic Council 711 Second Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20002 (202) 544-7636 =================================================== This document is from the Politics section of the WELL gopher server: gopher://gopher.well.com/11/Politics/ Questions and comments to: gopher@well.com .