#18FOR18 – An IDCCA Challenge for Early Voting

Did you see the media coverage Rock Island County Democrats received for voting early?

IDCCA President and Rock Island County Chair Doug House helped promote early voting by creating a simple #18FOR18 event.

Early voting is a gift for all Illinois citizens. It’s convenient, accessible, and provides an opportunity to get your vote out of the way in order to help our Democratic candidates with the GOTV promotion they need.

The IDCCA is issuing a challenge to you and every one of our 102 counties: In the month of October, help Democrats by creating an “#18FOR18” early voting event. Here’s the details…

What is #18FOR18?

Simple. Just gather 18 local Democratic voters to vote early, together. Think about contacting friends, family members, coworkers, fellow Democratic and progressive activists.

Maybe it’s a lunchtime event or an after work gathering. If your county has weekend voting hours, schedule a Saturday morning coffee and donuts event.

Let your imagination run wild. What matters most is that you help get at least 18 Democrats together to vote early.

Record It.

“If there isn’t a picture, a video, and/or news coverage, it didn’t happen.” That’s a tip that all good political organizers can agree on. It’s especially important in the era of social media. Frankly, this is the other critical component of #18FOR18.

 Get pictures of the group and alert the local media to report it (if you have lots of people coming to vote, it could be a great news story). Ultimately, help the effort by documenting the event.

Post It AND Share It with Us.

Finally, get over to our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages @ILDCCA and share your photos.

And tell us in your caption:

  • Your county
  • Date of event
  • Any names of organizers / candidates / participants
  • And, of course, a photo (or a few).

In addition, post the photo and a message on your own page. Make sure you include the following information:

  • Use the hashtags #18FOR18; #ILDems, #BlueWave and, for Twitter, #Twill & #ILGov
  • Tag participants in the photos. That way, the post will be shared on their timeline.
  • Tell people what you are doing with #18FOR18 – briefly explain it and encourage them to early vote too.

That’s all there is to it! To recap, it’s a simple as:

  • Gather your group of at least 18 voters
  • Agree on a date and time to early vote
  • Come together at the election authority
  • Get a photo(s)
  • Vote
  • Share it with us so we can post it.

…and look, Sangamon County Democrats got into the game as well!