Looking for a strategic way to integrate Vote Tripling into your texting campaigns? Check out our Vote Tripling strategy guide.‍

What’s Vote Tripling? 

ThruText, a peer-to-peer texting platform, is a great way to reach voters. One new way to use ThruText is to text your supporters to ask them to get their friends and family to vote through a process known as “Vote Tripling.” 

Vote Tripling is a two-step voter turnout tactic that nudges people to get three friends to vote. Peer-to-peer texting is a great way to sign up these Vote Triplers, and ThruText’s Survey Questions allow you to remind them when it’s time to take action.

How Well Does Vote Tripling with ThruText Work? 

According to a 21,000-person test conducted by VoteTripling.org in 2018, vote tripling boosts voter turnout and yields votes at just $10/vote. Typically, campaigns see between 5 and 10 percent of the supporters and likely supporters they text say ‘yes’ to vote tripling. That means for a campaign with a list of 20,000 textable supporters, they’ll sign up 1,000-2,000 Vote Triplers, resulting in 3,000-6,000 voters across their district getting personalized reminders to vote from a close friend. In a close race, these supporters could make all the difference.

The Two Phases to Vote Tripling With ThruText 

Phase 1 — Pledge: Text your supporters and likely-supporters in your district and ask them to hold three friends accountable to vote. You can send this pledge message as early as you’d like, but we recommend doing so at least one month before Election Day.

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Phase 2 — Remind: A few days before Election Day send each of your Vote Triplers a personalized SMS that reminds them to vote and to mobilize the three specific friends they pledged to remind. Most campaigns send 2-3 reminders before Election Day, and many also send these reminders during Early Voting and before the registration deadline.

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ThruText To-Do’s 

Follow these seven steps to conduct effective vote tripling with ThruText: 

1. Create a Campaign and Survey Question for “Vote Tripler’s Friends Names”: when creating your campaign in ThruText, make sure to create a “Freeform” survey question in “Step 5” and name it ““Vote Tripler’s Friends Names”
2. Text Your Supporters: Send all of your supporters and likely supporters the initial pledge SMS and, to everyone who responds positively, send them the follow-up text asking for the first names of their three friends
3. Enter the names of the Vote Triplers in the freeform survey section. Separate each name with a comma and don’t forget to include “&.” For example, for the text above you would enter, “Mia, Toni & Nicky” to your notes section.  
4. Export List: Export your survey data from ThruText and build a new CSV that includes a Vote Triplers column. 
5. Upload New List: Add a Custom Field to your ThruText account titled “Vote Triplers’ Friends’ Names”. 
6. Insert Custom Field: When you remind your supporters to Vote Triple, insert names of their friends through adding the “Vote Triplers’ Friends’ Names” custom field within your reminder SMSs.‍
7. Send Reminder SMSs: Send a few reminders before Election Day, and if you’d like, also send reminders before the registration deadline and during early vote.

Tips & Best Practices 

• Be direct and clear with your ask. Don’t be shy in asking your supporters what the names of their three friends are. Many supporters will be happy to share this information and it will allow you to send them personalized reminders before Election Day!
• Answer your survey questions. Write the names of the friends your supporters say they’ll mobilize in the survey question. 
• Don’t forget to check-in and remind your supporters to Vote Triple!

Want to learn more about vote tripling? 

This voter turnout technique was designed by VoteTripling.org, a non-profit that designs, tests & disseminates free friend-to-friend voter turnout programs for progressive campaigns. For more information, visit VoteTripling.org or email contact@votetripling.org.