Carpool Organizing Tool Guide

Talking to voters in person is the most effective way to get them to turn out on Election Day. Swing Left is testing out a new tool to help group leaders more easily get your group on the road to knock doors and get out the vote.

How it works: Drivers list their car – along with the time, date, and location of departure – and riders sign up to join a car that works best for them. The tool then emails the necessary, appropriate information to group leaders, drivers, and riders while protecting their privacy.

The tool is designed to be easy for anyone to use – and this guide will help your group make the most of it.

Before using the carpool tool

• Fill out this simple form to register your group up to use the carpool tool.

• Let us know if you’re willing to provide rides to local college students who want to canvass—or if you’re a college group looking for rides to go canvass.
• Be sure to list the contact information for a leader of your group (likely you) who will be the point of contact for your carpools.
• We will follow up with custom links you can use to make the most of the tool.

• Select the time, date, and staging location (destination of the carpool) for your planned canvass trip(s). If you need support planning your canvass, reach out to your Swing Left staff contact or email host@swingleft.org for support.
• Post your canvass event(s) on Mobilize:

• Mobilize link for canvass carpools only: Setting up a carpool to a campaign’s canvass location (read the full canvass carpool guide)
• Mobilize link for Swing Left canvass: Setting up a carpool to your own door-to-door canvass (read the full Swing Left canvass guide)
• Mobilize link for high-traffic canvass: Setting up a carpool to recruit volunteers or register voters in a busy area (read the full high-traffic canvass guide)

• Before posting your event, make sure you have at least one driver confirmed to participate.

Links you’ll receive

When you register your group to use the carpool tool, the Swing Left team will create unique links for your group that will make it easier for your group to use the tool. We’ll share these links with you within two business days of your registration. Once you register your group with the tool, you can use these four links in perpetuity for any canvasses you host, without having to re-register.

• Dashboard (for you): An overview page for your group – allowing you as a group leader to see all riders, drivers, and the overall status of your carpool(s) in one place. If you’d like individual pages for each canvass event, we can create that for you on request.
• Passenger sheet (for you): An overview of all passengers (rider signups) so that you can see all riders in one place, for all cars.
• Driver signup: A form for drivers to register their cars, with your group pre-selected, which drivers will fill out with their car details (where they’re leaving from, how many seats they have, etc). Share this with any prospective drivers.
• Rider signup: A dedicated table that exclusively shows cars associated with your group - to make it easier for your members to find rides associated with your canvass(es). If you’d like individual tables for each canvass event, we can create that for you on request.

How drivers will register their car for your carpool

• After you register your group and receive the links from Swing Left, circulate your unique driver signup form with prospective drivers, which collects contact info for the driver, details on when and where the car will launch, the number of available seats, and any additional information potential riders need to know before they sign up (like allergy information, health precautions, etc.)

• Drivers should use a clear and concise car title, which will be used on its own within the tool to identify a particular car. We recommend including the date, time, general departure location, and possibly group affiliation. For example, “8/13 at 9am from Glendale.”
• For your meet up location, consider the needs of student volunteers if you’re providing students with rides. Consider a meet up location on or near campus or one that is easily accessible from public transit.

• We recommend that event hosts recruit at least one driver before posting their carpool – and include a “waitlist” car to capture any unmet demand from potential riders and let you know if you need to recruit more drivers.
• You can choose to include the unique driver signup link in your “How to Prepare” section of your Mobilize event so that any attendee can sign up to drive, or distribute it directly to trusted volunteers. Either way, consider including some of the above instructions, your group name, and Mobilize link so that potential drivers have that information at hand when they post their car.
• When a driver signs up, they will receive a confirmation email. The group leader that you designated when you signed up to use the tool will also get a notification email.
• We recommend asking canvass participants who want to drive on their own to fill out the driver signup form and list themselves as drivers with 0 available seats, so that you can still track all participants through the tool.
• Drivers cannot make changes through the tool. Any driver cancellations or changes to a car (such as time or location of departure) will need to be communicated to Swing Left directly by emailing your staff contact.

How riders will sign up for a car in your carpool

• After you register your group and receive the links from Swing Left, circulate your unique rider signup link with volunteers. Edit your Mobilize event and add the rider signup link in the "How to Prepare" section.
• We recommend giving volunteers clarity. Do they need to join a carpool or can they work out their own travel? Can they drive and offer rides to others (either using our signup link or through another process you set up to vet potential drivers first)? What happens if there’s no car that works for them or all the cars are full - should they email the event organizer or join a “waitlist” car?
• When a rider signs up, they will receive a confirmation email. The driver will also receive a notification email. Once a car is filled, the group leader will receive a notification email.

If you have questions or need support, please reach out to your staff contact by email, or schedule a meeting.