Reach Guide

What is Reach, and why are we using it?

To build sustainable grassroots organizing power and win the elections that determine the balance of power in our country, we need to reach out to everybody in our communities and personal networks to motivate them to vote and volunteer. Reach is an app that allows you to meet potential voters and volunteers wherever they are. Instead of going door to door with a list of people to talk to, we can engage with potential voters and volunteers anywhere, anytime and record our conversation with them to follow up later.

Reach also allows us to fill gaps in traditional campaign organizing. We can have conversations about voting and volunteering year-round, and we can reach people who often get left behind such as young people, college students, people who move frequently, or unregistered voters. Using Reach on a regular basis will expand our network of voters and volunteers and get more people engaged in the political process to maximize our impact.

How can I use Reach?

How to use Reach

Download the Reach canvassing app from the app store on your smartphone, or go to the website reach.vote.
Login and set up your account by following the steps in Reach's Knowledge Base.
Enter the campaign key you received from your group to join Reach. If you are a group leader, request a campaign key for your group using this form.
Once you join the campaign, you’ll see a home screen that looks like this.

Go to the Search screen to search for someone you’ve met in the voter file by their name, address, or both.

The more specific you are in your search, the better your results will be. Choose the result that matches the person you’ve met.
If you can’t find someone in the voter file, you can click on the + symbol to add them as a new person. They likely aren't registered to vote, so use the voter registration feature to help them register. It will remind you to follow up with the new voter until they complete the process and let you know when their voter registration is complete.

Click on the person’s name to add their contact information and record their responses.

If you’re reaching someone you know in real life virtually, click on the “Message” icon at the top to contact them via text or another messaging app. We provided contact scripts as examples. You can also call or email them through Reach.

After you have a conversation with the person you’re reaching (either virtually or in person), record their responses to the survey questions. This is one of the most important parts of using Reach, so make sure to record their responses completely and accurately so that you can follow up with them later.
You can see a list of everyone you have added to Reach and their responses to your survey questions under the “My Reach” tab.

Need help? Check out Reach's Knowledge Base for more helpful guides or email [email protected].

Use Reach throughout your everyday life to have conversations with new people about voting and volunteering! You can add anyone to the Reach campaign by searching for them in the voter file or adding a new person.

Here are some ideas for where you can use Reach:

In line at a coffee shop
At a political rally or march
At the grocery store or farmers' market
While waiting for the bus or the subway
At large gatherings like sporting events or concerts
At community centers, your house of worship, or a park
Anywhere you can find new people to talk to about voting and volunteering!

Relational organizing is the practice of talking to people you already know or have a connection with to mobilize and build sustainable collective power. Think about it: organizing is about relationships. Reaching out to someone you already know—someone who trusts you—is much more effective than having a conversation with a stranger.

This isn’t new, but we know that it works. In fact, research shows that it’s at least twice as effective as more traditional engagement methods.

You are probably already practicing relational organizing strategies. For example, if you’re having conversations with your friends and family about why they should vote, that’s relational organizing.

Search for the people you already know within the Reach app to add them to your network. You should prioritize people you know who need a reminder or help to vote, or people who are already engaged voters that you could recruit to be volunteers.

Here are some ideas for who to Reach out to:

Who would you send a holiday card to?
Who chats with you at your house of worship?
Who posts on social media about politics or shares or likes your posts?
Who would you say hi to if you saw them in public?

Have a conversation with the people you added. Use the contact scripts in Reach as a guide, but make them your own to have an authentic conversation. This can happen in person, or through a phone call, text, email, WhatsApp, social media message...however you normally talk with them! After they respond, record the results in the app to keep track of your conversation.

Relational organizing is best when done continuously. Whenever you have a conversation with someone about voting or volunteering, keep track of it in Reach. And make sure to follow up with them later to keep them engaged!

Create a campaign key for your group and encourage your members to use Reach

Request a campaign key for your group and share it with your members. After your members use Reach, you can request a list of people who have said “yes” to volunteering with your group from Swing Left and follow up with them to invite them to volunteer events or to get involved with your group’s activities.

You get out of Reach what you put in. You’ll have the biggest impact when you integrate using Reach into all of your organizing activities. Make sure everyone on your team knows how and why to use the tool.

Always use Reach to keep track of conversations with potential volunteers, and encourage your members to do the same.

Use Reach for high traffic canvassing

Organize a high traffic canvass with your group:

Choose a popular location in your community, such as at the farmer’s market, a subway station, or a large gathering like a sporting event (If you’re on a college campus, a library or dining hall are great options)
Prepare materials such as signs, clipboards, or flyers
Train your members on your script and how to use the Reach app
Set up a table or station your members in a high traffic area to talk to potential voters and volunteers who walk by. Ask them to pledge to vote or to join your group
Record the results of your conversations in the Reach app, then follow up with them later to make sure they vote and volunteer

Host a friend bank

Train your volunteers to use Reach for relational organizing, and then spend time together reaching out to the people you know about voting and volunteering!

Check out our event host guide for everything you need to host your own event.