Progressive Turnout Project Launches GOTV Texting Program in Pennsylvania Special Election

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 1, 2018
CONTACT:
Priyal Amin; press@turnoutpac.org

Progressive Turnout Project Launches GOTV Texting Program in Pennsylvania Special Election
Organization targeting more than 25,000 likely Democrats to make a plan to vote March 13

PITTSBURGH — Progressive Turnout Project launched a GOTV texting program to turn out Democrats ahead of the March 13 special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district. The organization will send peer-to-peer text messages to more than 25,000 likely Democrats in the district leading up to Election Day.
“Our data-driven organization is focused on finding new solutions to one of the most basic flaws of our democracy – low voter turnout,” said Executive Director Alex Morgan. “We’re constantly exploring new technologies that exist to see what’s the most effective way to communicate with Democrats and ultimately get them to the polls.”
With more and more people ditching their landlines and opting for cell phones, reaching a voter by the traditional method of a phone call is becoming increasingly difficult. Research suggests that the average pickup rate from an unknown number is 10%. On the other hand, current data shows that 95% of Americans have a cell phone and that 90% of all text messages are read within 3 minutes.
“With new technology available, our team is able to have authentic, one-on-one conversations with voters via text messages,” said Morgan.
The texting program is a part of the organization’s comprehensive voter-turnout program that includes staff on the ground talking face-to-face with voters.

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Progressive Turnout Project is a grassroots-funded Political Action Committee with a single mission: get Democrats to the polls. PTP designs, tests, and executes specialized voter-turnout programs targeting inconsistent Democratic voters in the most competitive districts across the country. Since its inception in 2015, the organization raised more than $14 million with a supporter base of over 2.6 million and invested in voter-turnout programs in 23 congressional races and 17 state legislative races, including 10 Virginia House of Delegate races 2017.