Take Back Your Government!

CHAPTER X The Final Sprint

Final Mail Coverage: Send signed post cards or personal letters to all persons called on. Don't use third class mail.

Election Day: Regroup to cover the precincts covered by the candidate. The purpose of election day work is to get every certain and every probable vote, as determined by canvassing, to the polls. Telephoning the night before and election morning is used to separate the certain voters from those who must be coaxed or carried. Election afternoon is used to round up stragglers. Work from lists. Use any left-over time to carry any members of your party to the polls and thereby pick up a few stray votes in return for the courtesy of a ride.

Use poll workers if available-conform to local law.

Election Night: Have the count watched and the results telephoned in. Give a headquarters party with refreshments for workers and friends.

Post-Primary Troubles:

Don't forget:

Personal notes to all who have helped.

Get-together and rally meeting of Doorbell Club

Heal-the-wounds meeting of the Breakfast Club

County committee meeting

State committee meeting

State convention

Official report of campaign expenditures.

Vacations for you and for the candidate.

But your principal effort will be to bring candidates you have defeated into line at once.

Final Campaign: Organize a district campaign for the entire ticket and have your candidate beat his own drum by campaigning for the entire ticket.

Keep your candidate's campaign funds separate from the district funds.

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Robert A. Hewlem

In congressional contests attempt to get national committee funds allotted to your district

Conduct the final campaign in the same fashion as the primary campaign, with the same emphasis on doorbell-pushing-despite any and all advice or pressure. Your list of selected targets now comprises the members of your own party who failed to vote in the primary plus members of minor parties plus unaf-filiated voters. Ignore die other party.

Continue strenuous efforts to register potential voters.

Put special effort into election day organization and get workers in from outside the district impossible.

Guiding Principle: If you are licked, it means your friends stayed home. Your object is to stir out the largest possible percentage of your own "sleeper" by registering them and dragging them to die polls.

Post-Election Chores: Same as for primary, minus the convention and plus between-election plans for the organization... elections are won in the off-years!