How-to guide: Writing letters to voters with Vote Forward

Create your Vote Forward account

Step 1: Register

Create an account on votefwd.org using either your email address, Facebook, or Google. If you have written letters with Vote Forward in the past, you already have an account and do not need to re-register; simply log in to your existing account and continue adopting voters.

Step 2: Confirm your email

If you use your email address to register, look for an email from “[email protected]” in your inbox and click “Register” to confirm your new account. (If you can't find the email, check your spam, junk, or promotions tab.) If you use Facebook or Google to register, you can skip this step.

Step 3: Complete a questionnaire

Answer a few quick questions to help us identify pro-democracy volunteers. You can include a link to your social media profile to speed up the approval process, but this is optional.

Step 4: Get approved

A real person reviews every new Vote Forward volunteer application, which can take up to two days. Once approved, you’ll receive a welcome email from Vote Forward with the subject line: “You’re approved to send letters on Vote Forward.” Now you’re ready to write!

Adopt voters and download letters

Step 1: Log into your account

After your account has been approved, you can visit your Vote Forward dashboard by logging in on votefwd.org.

Step 2: Choose your letter campaign

Once signed in, you'll be prompted to start with our default letter campaign. You can choose a different option by clicking the gray "Adopt from a different campaign" button or finding our Campaigns page in the site menu. This will allow you to see all of our active letter campaigns, so you can choose any one you’d like!

Step 3: Adopt voters

• Adopt voters in sets of 5 or 20 using the corresponding buttons ("Adopt 5 voters" or "Adopt 20 voters").
• You can adopt multiple sets of voters at once, however please wait for the "Success!" message to appear before clicking the button again.
• Keep track of your total voters adopted using the counter provided on your dashboard.

Step 4: Download letter templates

Your letters will appear in bundles of 5 or 20 on your dashboard. Click on the blue "Download" button for each bundle to get your letter templates ready to print. Each bundle will download as a PDF file, which will typically save to your desktop or downloads folder on your computer.

Step 5: Print your letters

Make sure to print your letters on single-sided sheets, not double-sided, so you can mail each letter individually. You may want to double check your printer settings before preparing a new batch.

Did you know? Vote Forward offers letter kits of 20 pre-printed letters, 20 stamps, and 20 envelopes, as well as postage-only kits of 20 stamps. Check out our free letter and stamp kit program.

Prepare your letters

Step 1: Review the letter template

Each letter template is specific to a particular voter, so you’ll find a name and address printed at the bottom of every page. You can use the voter list as a checklist as you go: it’s the cover page of every bundle you download.

Step 2: Fill out the letter

Begin by writing the voter's first name after the printed ‘Dear’ at the top of the page. Then add your personal note in the body of the letter. Keep your message positive, heartfelt, and nonpartisan. (Wondering what to write? More on that below!) It’s important that you do not mention specific candidates or political parties, or make assumptions about a voter based on their name or location. Lastly, sign the bottom of the letter by writing your first name and last initial. (E.g. Mandy P.)

Step 3: Address the envelope

Use the voter's name and address found at the bottom of the letter to address each envelope. For the return address, simply write your first name and last initial on the first line (e.g. Mandy P.), followed by "Vote Forward" on the second line.

Step 4: Check, stuff, and stamp

Ensure that the voter's details on the letter and envelope match. Then fold and insert your letter into its envelope and add a stamp.

Before you seal your envelopes, consider this: Based on an experiment from 2022, we believe volunteers can make their letters more impactful by including decorations or additional items inside their envelopes. Check out our guide to Boosting your letters with enhancements to learn more. However, this is in no way mandatory: If you prefer to seal your envelopes now, please do so—especially if it's time to mail them.

Step 5: Repeat and store

Repeat this process for each letter and store them safely until it’s time to put them in the mail. It’s a good idea to mark the mail date(s) on your calendar so you don’t forget, but we’ll send you a reminder via email, too.

Step 6: Shred each voter list

Shred each voter list (the cover page of each letter bundle) once you’re done, as it contains sensitive information.

Step 7: Spread the word about letter writing

Don't forget to snap a photo of your letters to share on social media! Tag us @votefwd, and be sure to omit or blur any identifying information about your letter recipients before posting.

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 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.

Remember: You may be writing to voters who have a different perspective than you, but even if they live in a different community or care about different issues, they can still relate to the emotions and values you bring up in your personal note. Here’s an example:

“I vote because I want my representatives to take action to protect our environment. I almost had to evacuate my house last summer because a wildfire was burning just a couple of miles away. In the past few years I've lived here in California, these fires have been getting bigger and scarier, and sometimes I can't even leave my house because the air is so thick with smoke. It makes me feel glad to see that my representative in Congress is taking action against these climate-related disasters, so that future generations won't have to feel the same fear that I did.”

Why nonpartisan?

Get-out-the-vote (GOTV) research has shown that nonpartisan messaging is more effective than partisan messaging for boosting voter turnout.

That said, we ask that volunteers do not:

• Mention candidates by name
• Mention political parties
• Frame their overall message in a partisan or one-sided fashion
• Assume that the recipient agrees on specific issues or policies
  

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).

From several years of hearing from letter recipients, we’ve received feedback about what resonates and what doesn’t. Here are some more tips:

• Avoid time-sensitive mentions: Specific references to policies, news events, or voting methods can become outdated by the time a person receives their letter in the mail. Stick with topics most people will agree on like quality healthcare, good schools, and clean air and water.
• Avoid framing voting as an obligation: Messages about voting because it's “your right” or “civic duty” do not typically resonate with the voters on Vote Forward's lists. Recipients will be more excited about voting in order to express their opinions or make change, rather than voting as an obligation.
• Don’t shame non-voters: Messages about "always voting" or "never missing an election" can have the unintended consequence of making recipients feel discouraged instead of encouraged about voting. We are intentionally writing to people who we know don’t vote in every election, so we don’t want to make them feel ashamed about their level of participation.
  

Instead of this…say that!

• I want to be part of a blue wave. → I want to be part of a movement for change.
• I vote because it’s my civic duty as an American. → I want my voice to be heard, every vote counts, and I love the feeling of being a part of my community.
• I want Democrats to win a majority in the Senate. → I want representation for all of us.
• We need to elect representatives who will ban fracking. → I have seen the impacts of fracking in my home state, and because of that, I feel strongly we need representatives who will pay attention to our health and well-being.

Still looking for inspiration? Here are some more example messages:

• "I believe voting matters because in the operating room after my son was born, his mom and I promised him that we’d do everything we could to build a better world for him. His generation faces so many challenges, from school shootings to a deeply divided society. I vote to keep my promise to our son that we’ll elect leaders who will build a better world for him to grow up in."
• "I vote because I’ve had asthma since I was a kid, and I know that if I'm ever between jobs, I'll only be able to get insurance because the law protects people like me with pre-existing conditions. I want to elect candidates who support these policies that have been important to me and so many of my loved ones."
• "I vote because I want my kids, my community, and everyone to have a better life. I believe that voting is the most powerful and peaceful way to make that happen. I hope you will join me and others in this important election and be a voter."
• "I vote because when I was a kid, my father—an immigrant and U.S. Army veteran—taught me that each voter is an essential ingredient in the recipe for a healthy democracy. Today, I believe Dad's lesson more than ever. I love voting!"

For more support on crafting an impactful personal story for your letters, please see our volunteer training exercise.

Updating your dashboard

After you've prepared your letters, please do the following:

• Log in to your Vote Forward account.
• On your volunteer dashboard, mark your letters as “Prepared” by clicking the “Mark prepared” button on each letter bundle, which will move them to the ”Prepared” column. You can also mark individual letters as prepared by expanding the letter bundle and then clicking the right-facing button next to each voter’s name.
• Remember to store your letters in a safe place until it’s time to mail them!

Mail your letters

Step 1: Send out your letters during the campaign mail dates.
The mail dates for each campaign are listed near the top of your Vote Forward Dashboard and on each letter bundle. It’s a good idea to mark the mail date(s) on your calendar so you don’t forget, but we’ll send you a reminder via email, too.

Step 2: Log into the Vote Forward dashboard and mark your letters as "Sent".
Click the “Mark sent” button on each letter bundle in your “Prepared” column to move them to your “Sent” column. Letters cannot be marked “Sent” until the mail date; the buttons will be inactive until the day arrives. Please mark your letters “Sent” as soon as you mail them so our team has accurate data on how many letters are in the mail (and so we stop sending you reminder emails).