Pre-GOTV Checklist: What Hawaii Campaigns Need in Place Before August Ballots Drop

The 20-day ballot period is the most intense phase of any Hawaii campaign. Under the state’s vote-by-mail system, every registered voter receives a ballot roughly 20 days before the primary. Your job during those 20 days is to make sure that every one of your identified supporters actually returns their ballot — and that every ballot returned on your candidate’s behalf actually gets counted.

The campaigns that execute GOTV effectively are the campaigns that did their preparation before the ballot period began. GOTV logistics — volunteer scheduling, walk list generation, phone bank operations, ballot chase tracking, signature cure processes — cannot be built on the fly. If you are still organizing your GOTV operation when ballots start arriving, you are already behind.

This checklist covers everything your campaign needs to have in place before the ballot period begins. Print it. Review it. Check every item. And do not start GOTV until every box is checked.

Voter Data and Targeting

• GOTV universe built and validated. Your GOTV universe — the voters you will mobilize during the ballot period — should be built, scored, and validated before the ballot period begins. This universe includes your confirmed supporters, your soft supporters, and your turnout targets. Exclude your persuasion universe (these voters should be resolved by now), your opposition universe, and any voters who should not be contacted.

• Walk lists generated for every canvassing turf. Generate walk lists for every turf you plan to canvass during the ballot period. Walk lists should be organized by precinct and geographic proximity, with route maps for canvassers. Do not wait until GOTV weekend to generate lists — if your voter data system goes down or your printer breaks, you will be scrambling.

• Phone bank lists generated and organized. If you are running phone banks during GOTV, have your call lists organized by shift and by volunteer team. Phone bank lists should prioritize high-value GOTV targets — supporters with sporadic primary vote history who need a push to return their ballot.

• Do-not-contact list distributed to all teams. Every canvasser and phone banker should have a clear do-not-contact list. This includes voters who have indicated opposition, voters who have asked not to be contacted, and voters who have already returned their ballot. Contacting voters who have already voted wastes volunteer time and annoys the voter.

• Precinct maps printed and distributed. Canvassers need physical precinct maps, especially in areas where cell service is unreliable. Print precinct maps for every turf and include them in canvassing packets.

Volunteer Operations

• GOTV weekend volunteer schedule confirmed. Every GOTV shift for the final weekend before the primary should have a confirmed volunteer assignment. You need names, contact information, shift times, and turf assignments for every volunteer. If you are short on volunteers, now is the time to recruit — not on GOTV weekend itself.

• Volunteer captains assigned for every shift. Every GOTV shift should have a designated volunteer captain who is responsible for check-in, briefing, deployment, and debrief. Volunteer captains should be your most experienced and reliable volunteers.

• Canvassing packets prepared. Each canvassing packet should include: walk list, precinct map, door-knocking script, pledge cards or commitment cards, campaign literature for distribution, and a reporting form for recording results.

• Phone bank infrastructure confirmed. If you are running phone banks, confirm the location, the phone system, the call scripts, and the volunteer schedule for every shift. Test the phone system before GOTV begins.

• Volunteer food and logistics arranged. Every GOTV shift needs food, water, and basic supplies. Arrange catering or volunteer-provided meals for every shift. Confirm transportation for canvassers who need rides to their turf, especially on neighbor islands where drive times are significant.

• Backup volunteer list for no-shows. Volunteers will no-show. It is inevitable. Maintain a backup list of volunteers who can be called with short notice to fill gaps. A GOTV operation that is dependent on 100 percent volunteer attendance will fall short.

Ballot Chase Operations

• Daily ballot return data pull process established. Hawaii’s county election offices provide daily ballot return files during the election period. Establish the process for pulling this data every day, cross-referencing it against your GOTV universe, and updating your contact list to remove voters who have already returned their ballot. WeCampaign’s ballot chase tools automate this process.

• Ballot return tracking system configured. Your tracking system should show, for every voter in your GOTV universe, whether their ballot has been mailed, received, returned, or flagged for cure. This is the operational backbone of your GOTV program — without it, you are guessing about who still needs to be contacted.

• Signature cure process documented and assigned. Ballots that are flagged for signature issues can be cured — but only if the voter is notified and takes action. Assign a volunteer or staff member to monitor signature cure notices and contact affected voters. Every cured ballot is a recovered vote.

• Ballot chase scripts written and approved. Write specific scripts for ballot chase contacts: reminder to return the ballot, offer of assistance if the ballot has not been received, and guidance for voters whose ballots were flagged for cure. Scripts should be brief, specific, and action-oriented.

Communications

• GOTV mail pieces printed and ready. If your campaign is sending GOTV direct mail — and it should — have the pieces printed, addressed, and ready to drop. Coordinate mail delivery timing with the ballot period. Your first GOTV mail piece should land within a few days of when voters receive their ballots.

• GOTV digital ad campaigns prepared. Prepare digital ad creative for Facebook, Instagram, and any other platforms your campaign uses. Target ads to your GOTV universe by district, age, and vote history. Have the campaigns ready to activate on ballot mail date.

• GOTV text message scripts and schedule finalized. Text banking is an effective GOTV channel in Hawaii. Write scripts, organize your contact lists, and schedule your text sends for maximum impact during the ballot period. Coordinate text sends with your door-knocking and phone-banking schedule so that voters receive multiple touches.

• Social media GOTV content scheduled. Prepare and schedule GOTV posts for the entire ballot period. Content should be action-oriented: “Ballots are arriving this week — make sure you return yours!” “Need help with your ballot? Contact us.” “One week left to return your ballot.”

• Earned media outreach planned. If your campaign is pursuing earned media during GOTV, have your press releases, media kits, and op-eds drafted and ready. Coordinate earned media with your paid communications for maximum impact.

Organizational GOTV Support

• Endorsing organizations contacted for GOTV support. If your campaign has organizational endorsements — labor unions, community organizations, ethnic associations — contact them now to coordinate GOTV activity. Many organizations have their own GOTV operations that will contact their members. Coordinate your efforts to avoid duplicate contacts and maximize coverage.

• Organizational GOTV commitments confirmed. Get specific commitments from endorsing organizations: how many phone bank volunteers, how many canvassers, what communities they will cover, what communications they will send to their members. Vague commitments do not produce GOTV results.

• Volunteer lists from organizations received. If organizations are providing volunteers, get their names and contact information in advance. Do not wait until GOTV weekend to find out who your organizational volunteers are.

Logistics and Operations

• Campaign headquarters or staging locations confirmed for GOTV weekend. Every shift needs a location for volunteer check-in, briefing, and deployment. Confirm these locations, arrange access, and ensure they are equipped with the basics: tables, chairs, power, WiFi, and parking.

• Transportation plan for canvassers. Especially on neighbor islands, canvassers need reliable transportation to their turfs. Confirm vehicle availability, arrange carpooling, and plan routes in advance.

• Printer and supplies confirmed. A working printer is critical during GOTV. You will need to print updated walk lists, scripts, pledge cards, and other materials on short notice. Confirm that your printer works, that you have enough ink and paper, and that someone knows how to operate it.

• Data entry process for canvassing results. Every canvassing shift produces results: doors knocked, voters contacted, supporters identified, voters who have already voted. These results need to be entered into your voter database promptly so that subsequent shifts are working from current data. Assign data entry responsibility for every shift.

• Inclement weather backup plan. Hawaii’s weather can disrupt outdoor canvassing. Have a backup plan for rainy days: phone banking instead of door knocking, indoor staging locations, and alternate turfs that have more covered walkways and apartment buildings.

Legal and Compliance

• Campaign finance reporting deadlines confirmed. Know your campaign finance reporting deadlines and ensure that all contributions and expenditures through the pre-primary reporting period are documented. Late filings create compliance problems that distract from GOTV operations.

• Election law compliance reviewed. Review Hawaii’s election laws regarding campaign activity near polling places, ballot collection, and voter assistance. Under Hawaii’s vote-by-mail system, some rules have changed. Know the rules and brief your volunteers.

• Volunteer code of conduct distributed. Every GOTV volunteer should receive and acknowledge a code of conduct that covers appropriate behavior at the door, handling of voter information, and election law compliance. This protects the campaign and the volunteers.

The Final 72 Hours

The last 72 hours before election day are the most critical period of the campaign. Make sure you have:

• A final GOTV push plan for election day. Even in a vote-by-mail state, election day matters. Some voters will still be returning ballots on election day, and a final round of contacts to your remaining unreturned supporters can push the last votes over the line.

• A results tracking plan. Know how you will monitor returns on election night, and have a plan for both outcomes. If you win, know how you will thank your volunteers and supporters. If you lose, know how you will honor the effort your team put in and begin the process of winding down the campaign.

• A volunteer thank-you plan. Before GOTV begins, plan how you will thank your volunteers after it ends. A thank-you event, personal calls from the candidate, and prompt follow-up on any commitments you made to volunteers during the campaign.

Execute the Checklist, Win the Campaign

This checklist covers the operational foundation that makes GOTV effective. The 20-day ballot period is not the time to build infrastructure — it is the time to execute an operation that was built and tested before ballots arrived. Every item on this checklist represents a potential point of failure during GOTV. Check them all, and you will be ready. Miss one, and you will be fighting logistics instead of fighting for votes.

WeCampaign’s GOTV tools — ballot chase tracking, walk list generation, volunteer management, and real-time contact reporting — give you the infrastructure you need. But tools are only as good as the preparation behind them. Use this checklist, build your operation, and execute when the ballots drop.