CEO Update: Michigan rising

We’ve identified Michigan as a rising priority state, where it costs less than $2M to mobilize 400,000 students across 36 key campuses in the most competitive districts. 

One of the things I love most about what we do at VoteAmerica is how quickly we can pivot.  The data shifts, the numbers tighten, and instead of being stuck in a rigid plan, we adjust with surgical precision.  We’ve built our program to be nimble, and in the landscape of our modern American elections, trust me, that has paid off year after year.

If you want to know how we stay so responsive, I recommend starting with VoteAmerica’s 2024 Program Targeting Data: https://go.voteamerica.org/targeting. 

You’ll notice that I include our targeting doc in almost every email.  That’s because it’s central to how we make decisions and frankly, we like to show our work.  We’re not just looking for competitive races: we’re looking for people who can vote in the greatest number of competitive races up and down the ballot.  Our weighting system is anchored in the presidential election, but it also factors in down ballot races, ballot measures, and state leg.  If you’ve heard me say that we zig when others zag, this is the dynamic math behind why. 

We update this document every week.  As we refine our internal evaluations, integrate fresh polling data, and compare ratings across states, we are noticing a shift.  Michigan is rising fast as a priority state.

Voter turnout in Michigan could swing several critical races — not only at the presidential level, but up and down the ballot. This is exactly what our targeting strategy was designed for: instead of being locked into rigid plans or sinking millions into predetermined districts, we shift our resources to where they can have the highest impact across multiple races.

It’s not just Michigan, either.  Look at Montana: what started as a toss-up now leans red.  If we had locked in our spending 6 months ago, our priorities would be out of date.  Hell, they’d be out of date if we’d locked them in 3 months ago.  As a reminder, Joe Biden was the Democratic candidate 70 days ago. 

Listen, I had no intention of winding up in campus media, but we go where the ROI is, so here we are.  In 7 years of running this program, we’ve seen turnout boosts from 2 to 8 percentage points — game-changing results. 

For those of you who are new here, VoteAmerica’s campus media program isn’t just about placing a few ads.  We buy out inventory from 6 media channels owned and operated by the colleges — media channels students see daily and trust.  70% of students read their campus news weekly, and nearly half rely on it for critical information.  But we go well beyond campus newspapers.  We’re everywhere: on transit ads, on kiosks in academic buildings, in campus email newsletters, and on posters plastered across campus.  If we’re running a mobilization program at a school, it’s going to be impossible to miss our messaging.  In a world of split attention, this is a captive audience.

We remind students to vote — and we teach them how.  Whether it’s registering on time, finding the nearest polling location, or making sure they know exactly what to bring, we are clearing the hurdles that keep students from the polls. 

Students have been back on campus for a month, and field programs are running.  Field is essential, no question.  But it’s not enough.  VoteAmerica is positioned to deploy a nimble, scalable campus media program– one that can absorb large capital and drive results across hundreds of campuses simultaneously.  If you want to win, you need both.

With just 6 weeks to go, this is it.

Michigan is a clear, high-impact opportunity – where, for under $2M, we can activate 400,000 students across 36 key campuses in the state’s most competitive districts.