Signature Drive

GCA Civic Engagement Events are small meetings that require little effort to set up and

are focused on community action. The Marshfield DTC signature drive is a perfect example of a GCA civic engagement event. In April, the Marshfield DTC held a signature drive for all Democratic candidates running in the 2022 election cycle. The GCA process was used to do outreach to the Democratic base in Marshfield. Over 30 volunteers showed up to do neighbor-to-neighbor outreach, contacting over two thousand democratic households. Additionally, automated phone calls and texts, as well as a social media campaign, were used to support the outreach effort by committee members. This was a huge help to all the Democratic candidates and helped them reach their goals.

Signature Content

Content materials provided by the town committee included a bifold, a trifold, electronic graphics in the form of memes, and voter lists for Democratic neighbors for each volunteer. The content was built off of a core set of graphics that includes an invitation, a description, a process outline, and a full list of Democratic candidates. The bi-fold was used by volunteers who were canvassing the neighborhoods. (Appendix A) The trifold was used by the volunteers who mailed the invitation to neighbors. (Appendix B) The digital meme was used by volunteers doing electronic outreach that included email, text, and social media (Appendix C). Volunteers used whatever method worked best for them.

Examples of handouts, mailers, and electronic memes for signature drive civic engagement events are listed in the members section of this website. Click here to get access.

Signature Drive Timeline

The process started with a vote by the town committee to support the signature drive effort using the GCA process for outreach. The committee then recruited 30 volunteers to help, which was followed by an organizing meeting. At the organizing meeting, volunteers got instructions with example scripts to use, invitations to be distributed, and a list of 50 registered Democrats in their neighborhood. The following week, volunteers either delivered, mailed, or electronically sent invitations to the voters on their list. In addition to the outreach done by the volunteers, there were automated services that sent messages to all registered Democrats in the town. The week before the event, automated calls were made with a pre-recorded voicemail invitation from a local celebrity. The day before the event, a text message was sent from the town chair reminding all Democrats about the event. The day of the event, over 80 people showed up to sign Democratic candidates' nomination papers. The effort resulted in the collection of signatures for 25 candidates, making for a total of 1,680 individual signatures with a verification rate of 98%. The GCA process results in activating the Democratic Town Committee and recruiting new people to participate.

Other Civic Engagement Events

The GCA process can be applied to other types of events, like drives to collect food, clothing, and toys. Neighbor helping neighbor campaigns that help with daily tasks for disabled citizens, senior citizens, and veterans Community cleanup days, snow removal, fall cleanup, and small-scale construction projects (Habitat for Humanity) are also good ideas but require a little more planning. (Appendix I) The events are designed to be free and require very little other than sweat equity from participants. To ensure the most effective activity for the community, these events are seasonal and regional in nature. Civic engagement events increase support and raise awareness among voters.

Click here for a walkthrough of the political engagement events that took place on the South Shore of Massachusetts during the 2022 election cycle.