#VotersOf2020 campaign

2020

print, social

In spring 2020, the voter contact organization I worked at had a problem. With door-to-door canvassing paused due to a global pandemic, how could we get photos of our voter contact work, while getting voters the info they needed?

Photos of 20 people holding cards reading “I Am A [Blank] Voter” where they've written in words like First Time, Hopeful, Democratic, Health Care, and more. — I am a ____ voter. How would you fill in the blank?

The #VotersOf2020 cards met several needs:

They were personal: It's hard to get good photos of door-to-door canvassing, but using the info card as a simple prop helped tell the story. Take a look: a health care worker in scrubs is a health care voter. Several young people are first-time voters. Others are sharing their emotions and motivations: hopeful, mad, passionate.
They were functional: Important, thoroughly fact-checked voting information for 17 different states was on the back of each card, so voters could keep the cards on their fridge (or wherever) to reference after the photo.
They were flexible: With cards printed months in advance, I knew some voting rules were subject to change. I kept the most basic information on the printed card, like major registration deadlines and voting options, while leaving the details for the accompanying web page.

Mockups show the front of one I Am a Voter card and the backs of cards for Georgia and Arizona, with details like voter registration deadline and the mail ballot request deadline. — Click the image to view full-size.

Good civic design is more important than ever, when voters can choose multiple methods for voting and bad actors spread disinformation about what's allowed. Unfortunately, state governments often create dense, legalistic, and inaccessible materials. These cards, and their accompanying digital guides, streamlined the decision-making process to make a voter's menu of options crystal clear.