A New Kind of Letter: Vote Forward's Persuasion Letter Campaign
Vote Forward letters since 2017 have asked voters a single question: will you vote? This fall, we'll be asking a second: who will you vote for?
Persuasion letters feature a few facts about the Democratic House candidate in the voter's district, and a personal story from the volunteer about why an issue matters to them in their own lives.
We design our new tactics with evidence-based best practices and information. We used research, including a thorough analysis from Blue Rose Research, to understand what issues voters prioritize most and where they have the most trust in Democrats. We were guided to three issues: health care costs/Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security, and cost of living. Then, we researched facts about the House candidate’s stance on those issues to include in the letter template.
Our theory is that a letter with a personal story from a real person about an issue they prioritize, and information about the candidate, can turn out a voter for the Democratic candidate.
Vote Forward always rigorously evaluates whether what we do works. In the past, we've measured turnout: what gets people to the polls? Now, we're measuring vote choice: what changes people from one candidate to another? This is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) campaign, and we'll be measuring both vote choice and turnout outcomes. We're either going to flip these races, or we're going to learn something that the rest of the field needs to know about persuasion by mail. We're either winning or learning.
At Vote Forward, we partner with volunteers to take evidence-based, high-impact actions to strengthen our democracy by building trust in government and increasing voter turnout. Most of the time, we do nonpartisan work. Sometimes, we do partisan work. This letter writing campaign is partisan work.
Why your story matters
Persuasion letters are most effective when the messenger is credible, and personal stories are the best way to establish credibility. Campaign mailers can provide facts about a candidate, but they cannot replicate a person writing truthfully about their own family, their own bills, or their own experience with the health care system.
Thank you for writing—we could not do this without you.
FAQ
I don't live in the district I am writing to. Is that ok?
Yes! Volunteers are asked to write about the issue that resonates with them the most. So no, you don't need to say that you'll vote for the candidate, you just need to say that you support the candidate's positions.
I thought my message was supposed to be nonpartisan?
This is a partisan campaign. However, we ask volunteers to write nonpartisan messages—meaning don’t mention parties or candidates. We picked three research backed issues that resonate with voters. Writing a personal story message about the issues that resonate is a way to personally connect with voters and be persuasive.
What should I write?
This is the most common question we get at Vote Forward—and we’re here to help! Our guidance centers on our shared mission of increasing voter turnout. We draw from behavioral science research, our own experimentation on messaging, and feedback from letter recipients to help volunteers craft compelling stories.
Generally, messages that are positive, heartfelt and personal, and nonpartisan work best.
Why positive? We say positive not to dismiss real challenges in our world, but rather to focus on voting as a positive, meaningful experience. Messages that generate excitement about voting help motivate letter recipients to cast a ballot.
Why heartfelt and personal? In 2021, our team conducted an experiment as part of our Vote Forward Labs initiative in which we learned that letters with “personal story” messages, written by trained volunteers, may be especially motivating for voters. Writing a short story (1-3 sentences) about a personal experience—either from you or someone you know—shows how voting affects real people's lives and can be especially motivating.
Why nonpartisan? Get-out-the-vote (GOTV) research has shown that nonpartisan messaging is more effective than partisan messaging for boosting voter turnout.
It’s fine to mention issues that matter to you, especially within the context of a personal story, just be careful not to assume the recipient agrees with your specific policy preferences (e.g. stay away from mentioning the bill you think Congress should pass).
For more support on crafting an impactful personal story for your letters, please see our volunteer training exercise.
When do I send my letters?
Adopt and write your letters, and keep them somewhere safe. Mail them between October 1, 2026, and October 24, 2026.
Who are we writing to?
We are intentionally using very broad targeting for this campaign. We are writing to voters who will range from unlikely to likely to vote, and unlikely and likely to vote for a Democrat. By providing factual details about the candidates’ stances on issues that matter to most Americans, we believe that voters will be willing to change their minds in order to make a difference in the lives of themselves, their friends, and their families.
