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Grassroots Political Opportunities

Get Involved - Get Authorized

There are many valid reasons to become active in politics. It's a civic duty for some people. Others might have a loyalty to a specific candidate or political party. You may believe in an issue, a philosophy, or have a vested interest in the outcome of a particular election.

Through political involvement, you will become more aware of the effects that legislative decisions can have - both positive and negative. You will learn how to motivate those who make these decisions and get your opinions through to elected officials whose votes may very well decide the fate of your company.

Participation comes in many forms. It can be something as simple as encouraging your employees to register to vote or as ambitious as seeking elected office yourself.

Whatever your level of activity, it can be fun, and it can be easy.

The following guide is meant to give you and your company an overview of the campaign process and the things you can do to get involved. Just a few hours a week can make you an integral part of any campaign - a local ballot initiative or a congressional race. Whether it is driving seniors to the polls on election day or helping put up signs for your candidate, a little bit of effort can go a long way toward helping you establish a lasting relationship with your elected officials (or maybe becoming one yourself).

Voter Registration

A Simple First Step

• Set up a registration table in the company's cafeteria, a facility's foyer or a popular employee-gathering place. Conduct a voter registration drive in conjunction with a company picnic, candidate fair, PAC solicitation campaign or grassroots recruitment effort. (For voter registration information or other assistance, please contact NAMIC.)
• Develop a fun theme for the event. Hire a political impersonator. Ask an employee to dress up like Uncle Sam or a famous American. Invite a personality. Use retirees, PAC members or grassroots participants to help conduct the event.
• Promote the voter registration event over your company's public address system or internal e-mail system. Display posters or cafeteria tent-cards. Tie the event's theme into the announcements and promotional materials.
• Provide a small gift such as a candy bar, pin, ice cream to those who register.
• Where required, provide transportation to registration sites.

Campaign Involvement

Non-Monetary Support of Candidates

• Conduct classes for employees who are interested in volunteering for a campaign. As trainers, use employees with volunteer experience, local party officials, candidates, former candidates, campaign managers or trained professionals.
• Upon completion of campaign training, facilitate placement of graduates in campaigns by providing them with a list of candidates, names of campaign managers and phone numbers. Encourage each graduate to select and contact a candidate's campaign.
  CAUTION! Employee participation in the campaign must be voluntary or the company must have a PAC to reimburse the company for an employee's salary and the cost of his/her benefits, if the employee coordinated the placement of another employee in a candidate's campaign.
• Corporate or trade association treasury dollars may be used.
• PAC dollars must be used.
• Provide employees with a comprehensive "order form" of political opportunities. The form encourages employees to request a candidate's campaign pin, bumper sticker or yard sign; to volunteer to help run the company's voter registration drive; to seek information or assistance on conducting a candidate fundraiser, organizing a meet-and-greet or volunteering in a candidate's campaign.
  CAUTION! The employee seeking a candidate's campaign materials must do so on his/her own time.
• Allow employees to spend up to one hour per week or four hours per month (of their volunteer time) working on behalf of federal candidates. This is permissible during normal working hours. The company can absorb the employee's salary/benefits costs, but any other costs incurred by the company - such as long-distance calls and postage - must be reimbursed by either the employee, the candidate or the company's PAC.
  CAUTION! The PAC must reimburse the company for an employee's salary and cost of his/her benefits if the employee is asked to perform a campaign-related function. Companies without PACs are prohibited from requiring employees to work for a campaign on company time.
• Conduct a computer game simulating a candidate's campaign.
• Give an elected official/candidate visibility by conducting a facility visit. The event can be conducted as a non-express-advocacy candidate event, express-advocacy candidate event or as a non-candidate event.
• Feature an article about a candidate or elected official in accompany-wide or management-only publication.
• Allow candidates or political committees to use your organization's facilities. The company must be reimbursed for the rental charge. Reimbursement is not required if the room is normally made available to civic or community groups without charge.
• Corporate or trade association treasury dollars may be used.
• PAC dollars must be used.

Campaign Involvement

Monetary Support of Candidates

• Communicate using "issue-advocacy" advertising.
• Conduct a candidate fundraising event with your restricted class or allow a candidate to visit your facility to meet with all employees.
• Encourage employees to contribute to the company's PAC.
• Support the political parties.
• Encourage employees to recommend candidates to the PAC's candidate-evaluation committee.
• Place employees who are PAC members on the committee's candidate-evaluation committee.
• Invite employees who are PAC members to attend candidate-evaluation committee meetings as non-voting participants.
• Encourage employees to make personal political contributions
  CAUTION! An employee may not facilitate the collection or disbursement of contributions to candidates. A corporation may provide a candidate's campaign address, but may not provide stamps or envelopes.
• Match employee contributions to the PAC with corporate contributions to the employee's charity of choice.
• Contribute PAC dollars.
• Conduct an external (beyond your employees) candidate fundraising event.
  CAUTION! Any costs incurred by your organization - including staff salary and benefits - must be prepaid by an employee, the company's PAC or the candidate.
• Provide in-kind goods or services to a candidate. Provide in-kind goods or services at less than the usual and normal charge if they are offered in the ordinary course of business to political and non-political clients.
• Make an independent expenditure on behalf of a candidate.
• Corporate or trade association treasury dollars may be used.
• PAC dollars must be used.

Get Out The Vote (GOTV)

Pre-Election Activities

• Allow flexible scheduling to encourage voting.
• Conduct pre-election informational classes about legislative issues and the candidates.
• Offer employees an informative voter guide or distribute, to your restricted-class only, an express-advocacy communication including an encouragement to vote for or against a particular candidate or candidate(s).
• Provide employees with a list of candidates who receive contributions from your company PAC.
• Conduct a candidate fair, picnic, ice cream social or brown-bag luncheon where employees can meet and speak with candidates, the candidates' campaign managers or campaign volunteers.
• Operate a phone bank to encourage voting on Election Day.
• Conduct a candidate debate or a debate on an issue pertinent to your company.
  CAUTION! Debates must be "sponsored" either by a non-profit 501©(3) or 501©(4) organization that does not support or oppose any candidate or party, or by a broadcaster, newspaper or periodical.
• Schedule candidate speeches or appearances.
• Conduct a pre-election straw vote in your company's cafeteria or at a company picnic. Publicize the results.
• Conduct a pre-election "pick-the-winners" campaign contest gifts might include restaurant gift certificates, movie passes or other inexpensive prizes.
• Provide transportation to voting facilities.
• Conduct a contest among employees to come up with the best GOTV theme.
• Distribute motivational payroll stuffers and/or windshield flyers or use cafeteria tent cards. Display GOTV posters.
• Hire a political impersonator to make a GOTV announcement or appearance.
• Participate in "Kids Voting USA" or the "League of Women Voters."
• Distribute a list of the election-cycle objectives of the PAC.
• Publish a campaign-related article in a company publication looking broadly at the upcoming election or focusing on a particular candidate(s).
• Publish a non-campaign-related article in a company publication, focusing on a public official's current work, interests and accomplishments.
• Arrange for availability or absentee ballots to frequent travelers and employees who request them.
• Invite a non-campaign, public official visit to a company facility.
• Host an election night party.
  CAUTION! Nothing of value may be given to an employee as a reward or recognition for voting.
• Corporate or trade association treasury dollars may be used.
• PAC dollars must be used.

Post-Election Activities

• Conduct a "morning-after" election analysis with national or local political pundits.
• Distribute a post-election wrap-up highlighting winners vs. losers and PAC-supported vs. PAC-opposed candidates.
• Distribute a candid assessment of your PAC's accomplishments and establish goals for the next election cycle. Consider new restrictions for the use of PAC money in the next election cycle.
• Conduct an unbiased audit/analysis of the candidate-selection committee's contributions over the past election cycle(s).
• Ask the members of the PAC's candidate-selection committee to re-evaluate and fine tune the candidate-selection criteria.

Employee Grassroots

Building Employee Political Knowledge

• Communicate to employees information about issues, votes, candidates and public officials of importance to the company, the community and employees.
• Call on employees to contact (using letters, phone calls or e-mail) elected officials, the media, community leaders, academics, and others. This effort is referred to as a "broad based" grassroots program.
• Call on a select group of employees to develop quality relationships with elected officials and community leaders. This effort is referred to as a "key-contact" grassroots program.
• Arrange a visit to the Capitol or Statehouse, with or without meetings with elected officials.
• Organize a grassroots letter-writing party, luncheon or breakfast.
• Call on employees to help arrange and conduct political and civic events.
• Ask employees to deliver a PAC check to a candidate or attend a candidate's fundraiser.
• (Travel and incidental costs may be paid using corporate or trade association treasury dollars.)
• Ask employees to testify before a legislative body.
• Provide a toll-free "hotline" that links employees to public officials.
• Operate an internal, toll-free "information line" or an intranet site for employees seeking information on politics and legislation.
• Invite a public official to tour your facility.
• Tell employees the names, addresses, e-mail addresses, fax numbers and phone numbers of their elected officials.

Community Activism

Linking Legislative, Political and Community Interests

• Formally link grassroots participants with community groups - preferably those compatible with mutual political and/or community interests such as Adopt-a-Stream, Kids Voting USA.<,/p>
• Encourage employees to make presentations to community groups regarding issues of concern to your company and the community.

Running For Public Office

Encouraging Employee Involvement

• Draft a corporate policy statement clarifying and perhaps encouraging time off for political involvement.
• Conduct a "How-to-Run-for-Office" class for a school board seat, statehouse or other elected positions.
• Encourage employees who are current office-holders to share their experiences with other employees who may wish to run for office.
• Print the names of employees who hold political office in a grassroots, legislative, PAC or company-wide publication.
• Conduct a computer game simulating the day-to-day operation of a congressional office.
• Interview successful (and unsuccessful) employee candidates for elected office and publish the interview in your company's political, PAC, grassroots or company-wide publication.
• Corporate or trade association treasury dollars may be used. PAC dollars must be used.

To learn more about the NAMIC Political Action Committee, contact our Washington office at (202) 628-1558.