In this post I am going to show you how to become an electoral VIP.
Not many people know this but election candidates, from parish councils up to MPs, divide voters into three broad categories. This is because all candidates (and their agents) get access to an information-rich copy of the electrical register. This is called the “marked register”.
Political parties use this data to decide whose interests they will care about. I’m going to show you how to get bumped up to VIP status.
Unimportant and not worth time or money
On the marked register, the candidate and their party can see who voted in the last election. Non-voters are deemed unimportant because their lack of vote means that they do not decide the outcome of the election. Therefore, they are not worth spending money on winning over.
Areas or streets with low voter counts get minimal if any consideration at all. MPs, and councillors (county, district, and parish) can save themselves time and effort by disregarding people who do not vote and areas with few voters.
Once in office, politicians are likely to ignore this group unless the press is watching. So if you did not vote – congratulations your opinion does not matter to the candidates.
Worth some time
If you are marked as having voted, that means your vote might make a difference. They will use demographics, opinion polls, and other techniques to try and work out which party you probably vote for.
If the politician and their party think you are a swing voter (someone who votes differently each time), they will invest in keeping or getting you on their side. Swing voters decide the outcome of elections.
If you are a paid-up party member, they will make some effort but trust you will vote for them regardless. As a rank and file member, your vote is “in the bank”.
If they think you are a firm voter for some other party, they will make some effort but only insofar as they think it might stop you from voting against them. Ideally, they would like you to give up and not vote at all.
Electoral VIP
These are the voters that parties care about the most. The VIP voters can decide an election before the polls even open. Yes, really.
VIPs are people who vote, are hard to determine party loyalty for, and who have registered for a postal ballot.
Postal ballets go out long before election day. That means during their time in office and especially during the start of the campaign period, you are the number one priority. They need to write to you first, call you, and generally do whatever they can to win your vote.
Postal voters cast their vote much earlier than everyone else. When candidates look at the marked register they can see where the postal voters are. If the candidate that won the last election knows what is good for them, they will be most attentive to the active postal voters. Being an active postal voter signals to candidates that you are serious about casting your vote.
How do you become an electoral VIP?
It really is very simple. If you have not figured it out yet – this is what you need to do.
- Register to vote if you have not done so yet.
- Fill out this form.
- Vote in the next election
- Contact candidates or their agents and ask why you should vote for them.
You are now a person who votes and must be targeted early and you will be recorded as a swing voter. You are now a priority voter. It is that easy. You are now (or seem to be) part of the minority that decides elections.
