Detroit Votes 2020

Detroit Votes 2020 (DV2020) was an integrated media and organizing campaign designed to generate a meaningful impact on voter turnout and voter registration in one of the country’s most critical electoral battlegrounds.

DV2020’s voter education efforts were broken down into three major buckets:

  • The Satellite Vote Center Program, which informed voters of the first-time early vote options, namely the 23 satellite locations and 30 secure drop boxes in their neighborhoods;
  • The Voter Registration Program, which utilized social pressure and layered communications tactics to drive voter registration and replace traditional face-to-face efforts; and,
  • Universal messaging and visibility efforts focused on driving people to the DetroitVotes2020.org website to find voting information regarding their voting options.
    • DetroitVotes2020-Logo-2-01

    DV2020 Program Strategy

    The research-based messaging approach harnessed the credibility of trusted elected officials and the hype of the Governor and Detroit Pistons, the city’s beloved basketball team. Official validators included Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Pistons Coach Dwane Casey, Vice Chair of Pistons Sports & Entertainment Arn Tellem, and Pistons players Isiah Thomas, Ben Wallace, and Blake Griffin.

    Metrics

    According to Vincent Hutchings, a political science professor at the University of Michigan, turnout in Detroit in 2020 was at record high numbers despite not surpassing the Obama-driven levels from 2008 or 2012. A total of 250,138 voters cast ballots, or 49.56% of the supposed 504,714 registered voters in the city. More than 20,000 Detroit voters who did not participate in the 2016 election turned out.

    By Election Day, the DV2020 website had 88,725 website views from 72,354 unique users, meaning just under 15% of all registered voters in Detroit visited DetroitVotes2020.org. The satellite vote center page received 42,636 views and the voter registration page saw 22,684 views.