Templates and guidance for election officials
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Need a flyer by lunch? Browse templates and plain-language guidance for every part of the voter journey. Open a design in Canva, brand it as your own and download it to print or post.
Templates and guidance
Search or filter by type, then sort however you like. Templates are ready-to-edit designs. Guidance covers what to say and when.
Upcoming Election
Put the next election on voters' radars well in advance of Election Day.
Browse templatesVoter Registration
Remind voters to register to vote or update their registration.
Browse templatesMake a Plan to Vote
Incentivize voters to decide in advance how, when and where they will vote in the upcoming election.
Browse templatesMail Ballot Request
Give voters who want to vote by mail convenient access to the information they need to apply.
Browse templatesEarly Voting
Notify voters of their options at the start of early voting.
Browse templatesBallot Tracking
Encourage voters to sign up for the ballot tracking system.
Browse templatesMail Ballot Return
Remind voters who were mailed ballots how and when they can return those ballots.
Browse templatesElection Day Reminders
Reach voters one week out, one day out and on Election Day with the information they need to vote.
Browse templatesPoll Worker Recruitment
Educate voters about the opportunity to work the polls in the upcoming election.
Browse templatesCertification of Results
Build confidence in election results by informing voters about the certification process.
Browse templatesMaking a Plan for Communicating Effectively through Election Day
Build a simple communications plan that carries you from voter registration through Election Day.
Read guidanceChoosing the Right Channel for Each Message
Decide when to reach voters by email, text, social or print, and why it matters.
Read guidanceWriting Clear, Plain-Language Voter Messages
Practical rules for messages voters actually read, understand and act on.
Read guidanceBeing the Trusted Source Voters Rely On
Position your office as the authoritative voice before rumors fill the gap.
Read guidanceHow it works
Three steps from topic to finished piece.
Pick a topic
Choose what you need to communicate, from the upcoming election through certification of results.
Get templates and guidance
Open the topic for ready-to-edit templates across email, text, social, print, and radio, plus notes on what to say and when.
Customize and share
Edit it in Canva, swap in your dates and logo, then download to post, email, or print. The file is yours.
Our story
VoterCast is owned and operated by Ready for Tuesday. Ready for Tuesday strengthens the capacity of the election community and the partners who support it. We work alongside trusted organizations and directly with election offices to provide practical, steady support — focused on making sure election officials are ready for Tuesday, whatever it brings.
VoterCast was developed by ideas42, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that uses insights from behavioral science to improve lives around the world. Drawing on their expertise in human psychology and communications, ideas42 partnered with election officials to design and test new and better ways to communicate with voters. Through these collaborations, the ideas42 team produced outreach content that encouraged millions of people to take critical steps around registration, turnout, and other election-related actions—like signing up for ballot tracking or to be a poll worker.
VoterCast is informed by this history of research and collaboration, offering content—easily accessible in only a few clicks—that incorporates the latest evidence and best practices in voter outreach.
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TJ Pyche Vice President, Ready for Tuesday
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Rebecca Roberson Project Director, Ready for Tuesday
Questions about a template or a project? Email support@readyfortuesday.com.
Behind the designs
The science of effective communication
See the five findings that shape every VoterCast template, and the research behind each one.
New templates, new guidance
Hear from us when we add templates or publish new guidance. Pick either one, or both.
Sign up for email updates Occasional notes from Ready for Tuesday on VoterCast and our other resources. Open the form Join us on Civic Roundtable Follow the VoterCast portal and trade notes with other election officials. Join the portalNonpartisan. Built for election officials.
The science of effective communication
What works in voter outreach, and why VoterCast is designed the way it is.
We have done extensive research to find what works in voter outreach so you can feel confident in the materials you deliver to voters. Each piece of content in VoterCast is based upon findings from our own experiments, academic research, and applied solutions from the field. Here are some of the top insights that inform our VoterCast designs.
Simplicity is key
VoterCast materials use concise language with simple sentence structures and basic vocabulary. Plain language increases trust and makes your communication accessible, understandable, and easy to navigate. Plus, most people skim the messages they receive, so we want to make good use of voters' limited attention.
- ideas42. (2023). Official Communication with Voters Checklist. ideas42.org.
- Center for Civic Design. Field Guide: Writing instructions voters understand. Civicdesign.org.
- Center for Election Excellence. Plain language. ElectionExcellence.org.
- Godfrey, L. (2018, December 20). Designing for translation. Digital.gov.
- Faulkner, N., et al. (2019), "The INSPIRE Framework: How Public Administrators Can Increase Compliance with Written Requests Using Behavioral Techniques." Public Admin Rev, 79: 125-135.
- Redish, J. C., Chisnell, D. E., Newby, E., Laskowski, S. J., & Lowry, S. Z. (2008). Report of Findings: Use of Language in Ballot Instructions, NISTIR 7556.
- Mann, Christopher, et al. (2020). "Too Much Information? Undermining Mobilization Efforts with Information Burden about the Voting Process." Unpublished manuscript.
- Song, H., & Schwarz, N. (2008). If it's hard to read, it's hard to do: Processing fluency affects effort prediction and motivation. Psychological Science, 19(10), 986–988.
- Rennekamp, K. (2012). Processing fluency and investors' reactions to disclosure readability. Journal of Accounting Research, 50(5), 1319-1354.
Demonstrating credibility
Every communication in VoterCast reinforces the credibility of your office to deliver information that voters can trust. The messages are informative, nonpartisan, and explain to voters how to get support if needed. The visuals are designed to elevate the trusted messenger (you) by incorporating recognizable branding, like seals, consistent colors, and other markers that show that the message is from an official source.
- ideas42. (2016). Graduating Students into Voters. ideas42.org.
- ideas42. (2020). Guide to Responding to Misinformation. ideas42.org.
- Center for Civic Design. Field Guide: Choosing how to communicate with voters. Civicdesign.org.
- Linos, E., Lasky-Fink, J., Larkin, C., Moore, L., & Kirkman, E. (2024). The formality effect. Nature Human Behaviour, 8(2), 300-310.
- Suttmann-Lea, M., & Merivaki, T. (2023). The Impact of Voter Education on Voter Confidence: Evidence from the 2020 US Presidential Election. Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy, 22(2), 145-165.
- Kumkale, G. Tarcan, Dolores Albarracín, and Paul J. Seignourel. (2010). "The effects of source credibility in the presence or absence of prior attitudes: Implications for the design of persuasive communication campaigns." Journal of Applied Social Psychology 40 (6): 1325-1356.
- O'Keefe, Daniel J. (1987). "The persuasive effects of delaying identification of high- and low-credibility communicators: A meta-analytic review." Communication Studies 38: 63-72.
- Sternthal, Brian, Lynn W. Phillips, and Ruby Dholakia. (1978). "The persuasive effect of source credibility: A situational analysis." Public Opinion Quarterly 42 (3): 285-314.
Timeliness
We know that event-driven messages help capture voters' attention and create an occasion for people to act. The materials in VoterCast always highlight key dates or deadlines, making it clear to voters why a specific communication is relevant in that moment. We also offer recommendations for when to send specific communications to increase the likelihood that voters will act on the messages they receive.
- ideas42. (2015). Increasing FAFSA Applications: Making college more affordable.
- ideas42. (2021). Increasing Property Tax Compliance: Encouraging timely payments with a behaviorally informed reminder letter.
- Center for Civic Design. (2017). Informed voters from start to finish.
- Suttmann-Lea, M., & Merivaki, T. (2022). Don't Drown the Message: The Effects of Voter Education on Mail Ballot Acceptance in North Carolina. Journal of Election Administration Research and Practice, 1(2).
- Panagopoulos, C. (2011). Timing is everything? Primacy and recency effects in voter mobilization campaigns. Political Behavior, 33, 79-93.
- Nickerson, D. W. (2007). Quality is job one: Professional and volunteer voter mobilization calls. American Journal of Political Science, 51(2), 269-282.
- Ariely, D., & Wertenbroch, K. (2002). "Procrastination, Deadlines, and Performance: Self-Control by Precommitment." Psychological Science 13, no. 3: 219-224.
Salient call to action
VoterCast messages are designed to help voters easily follow through on the steps they need to take to successfully cast a ballot. These messages typically present a single call to action that is salient, compelling, and simple to act on. For more complex instructions, steps are broken out into manageable checklists, reducing voter confusion and the likelihood for procrastination.
- ideas42. (2023). Official Communication with Voters Checklist. ideas42.org.
- ideas42. (2019). Reducing SNAP Churn in Massachusetts. ideas42.org.
- ideas42. (2016). Nudging for Success. ideas42.org.
- Center for Civic Design. Field Guide: Creating forms that help voters take action. Civicdesign.org.
- Center for Civic Design. Field Guide: Choosing how to communicate with voters. Civicdesign.org.
- Behavioural Insights Team. (2014). EAST: Four Simple Ways to Apply Behavioural Insights.
- Chojnacki, G., Deutsch, J., Amin, S., Perez-Johnson, I., Darling, M., & Lefkowitz, J. Pilot OSHA Citation Process Increases Employer Responsiveness (Brief). Mathematica Policy Research.
- Hales, B. M., & Pronovost, P. J. (2006). The checklist: a tool for error management and performance improvement. Journal of Critical Care, 21(3), 231-235.
Accessible to all
Effective voter outreach serves a diverse set of voters with different accessibility and language needs. The materials in VoterCast are designed to reach a wide audience and deliver information that removes barriers to participation. Visuals have large font and contrasting colors, messages are clear and supportive, and communications are offered across multiple channels to reach as many people as possible.
- Election Assistance Commission & Rutgers. (2024). Voting Experiences Since HAVA: Perspectives of People with Disabilities. eac.gov.
- Center for Civic Design. Field Guide: Creating accessible online information. Civicdesign.org.
- Center for Civic Design. Field Guide: Planning language access. Civicdesign.org.
- U.S. Census Bureau. (2022). Languages we speak in the United States. census.gov.
- ACLU. (2015). Access Denied: Barriers to Online Voter Registration for Citizens with Disabilities. aclu.org.
- Sanford, J. A., et al. (2013). Understanding voting experiences of people with disabilities. Accessible Voting Technology Initiative Working Paper Series.
Ready to put it to work? Every template in the library is built on these findings.
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