relational mobilization
Reach unreachable voters.
Relational mobilization coordinates people who know each other to do a single action, together.
Relentless runs relational mobilization programs to increase civic engagement, support social change, and win elections.
Technology and the pandemic have changed civic engagement over the last decade. Voters want to be connected, but not in-person, and they’re not all on the same social network anymore. They want to support the issues and candidates they care about, but they want to do it with someone they trust.
Relational mobilization recognizes that the best people to talk to voters are their friends and family — the people who know them best. And when we mobilize voters fast and at scale around a specific shared goal, we can do things that haven’t been done before.
relational.
The best people to talk to voters are their friends, not a stranger.
program design.
We know how to design programs that can be built quickly and drive action at scale.
reach unreachable voters.
Voters who aren’t being reached any other way are reachable through their friends and family.
Values-first tech.
Rally is our own custom-built software — for everyone to flex their political power.
Relational mobilization — as an organizing strategy — is how we reach unreachable voters.
Case study: mobilizing Georgians to vote in the 2022 runoff election
Program objective: Increase voter turnout for Sen. Warnock in the 2022 GA runoff election.
Program set up in 5 days.
Over 10 days, mobilizers built a relational network of 70,000 voters — spanning 96% of counties and 94% of precincts across the state — of which:
92% matched to the voter file
23% had not voted in the 2020 general
72% made a vote plan.
Impact:
3,000 voters in the relational network voted in the runoff election, despite not having voted in the general election one month earlier.
FAQs
what is mobilization?
Mobilization is a coordinated effort — at scale — to take a single action.
People can be mobilized to take actions such as voting, donating, or sharing info about issues that matter to them.
who is a mobilizer?
Mobilizers are people who activate others to do something.
In everyday life, they’re the person in your friend group who always manages to get everyone together for dinner. In organizing, they’re the person who sends texts reminding others that it’s Election Day and to get to the polls.
Is mobilization only for electoral campaigns?
No. Mobilization is also effective for social issue campaigns that want people to take an action, such as requesting to speak at a legislature, contacting representatives, or countering disinformation.
What is “relational”?
Relational just describes something where there is a relationship, such as between friends or family members.
Relational mobilization is where the mobilizer is only contacting people they already have a relationship with, because we know those conversations are more powerful.
was this the program used by the Ossoff campaiGn?
Davis Leonard (CEO) and Zoe Stein (Chief of People and Program) developed the first iteration of this strategy on the Ossoff Campaign, which they wrote about here.
is this paid relational?
“Paid relational” is used to describe relational outreach where the mobilizer is paid for their work, as opposed to being an unpaid volunteer. Some mobilizers are working two or three jobs to make ends meet, and compensating them for their time enables them to participate so their voice is heard.