Site MenuReturning Officers Post-Mortem Sessions 41st General Election
6 – Outreach (Use of Social Media and Community Relations Officer program)
6.1 – Use of Social Media
ROs had limited, or no use of social media and one of the reasons for this is a lack of time to use it. Facebook, Kijiji and Twitter were used by some ROs to recruit youth workers; ROs do suggest that social media be used for youth outreach as an opportunity to teach young people how and why to vote, and to inform them on what Elections Canada does. Some ROs used their personal BlackBerry to track Facebook (candidates’ pages and blogs). In general, ROs seemed to agree that there are great opportunities in the use of social media for outreach activities, to promote participation, to target specific groups, and to reinforce messages to workers, for example. A challenge that was identified is that social media is difficult to control in terms of content, and there are the challenges of action vs. reaction, competing messages and competition with political parties, as well as the need to have bilingual content. They recommend having social media handled through HQ so that the message is consistent, and have EC develop a policy on usage. Finally, ROs would need training on social media. They also suggest having a person dedicated to the monitoring of social media, because it would be too much work for the RO.
6.2 – Community Relations Officer (CRO) Program
ROs believe that the CROs are good to generate contact with people/groups in the electoral district; they used them to help get youth involved in the election process. They were a very good help with recruiting, and played a complementary role in the revision process. It is definitely a value added program. When asked what worked well with the program, some ROs say that CROs for Senior and Youth were the most beneficial. On the other hand, some ROs mentioned that they had difficulty finding a CRO to hire. Also, there is not enough time before the event to pick the right person for the position.
The CRO for Aboriginals made a difference in the Aboriginal voter turnout and in the number of workers hired. But relationships with the reserves need to be developed prior to the election as it is a complex area. It is difficult to have access to reserves, and separate approaches are needed with each Aboriginal group. In some EDs that have more than 20 reserves, 36 days is not enough for outreach activities.
ROs identified a need for better outreach material, especially for seniors, as well as better training modules, such as self-training modules for the CROs for seniors, homeless and Aboriginals. ROs would like to have more freedom to designate what they need in terms of CROs, since not all EDs are the same. Some ROs suggest having EC prepare an outreach kit that the RO could order according to their needs, and have the ability to order the materials and quantity of materials that are appropriate for their ED. ROs also offer the following suggestions for improvements: faster shipment of brochures and pamphlets; provide information material in many different languages; and do outreach with youth between electoral events, especially in schools where there are many immigrants. Finally, ROs suggest creating the following CRO positions depending on the needs of the ED: CROs for different ethno cultural groups, accessibility, the homeless and a CRO for electors with mental health related needs.
New CRO-Senior position
ROs thought that the newly created position was excellent, as it gave them easy access to a target group. It provided them with great communications links to seniors’ buildings, and the administration personnel appreciated having a contact person. They would like to see this program maintained. CROs took the time to look for people who may have been overlooked; it allowed for more personalized service, and there was ample time to organize – the pre-event task was appreciated. The kiosks in the malls worked well.
Most ROs mentioned that they need more print resources that are locally specific, multilingual and use plain text (for residences). ROs would like to have material that demonstrates opportunities for seniors to vote, they feel that seniors do not get enough information on the voting process, etc. Also, the CRO-Seniors should have their own manual, and better training and coaching material. Some ROs suggest making a team out of the CRO-Senior, the revision supervisor/agent and the SBC. It would also be helpful to involve the CRO-Senior in mobile poll training sessions to assist and provide tips.
Promotional tools available for CROs
According to ROs, most of the promotional material was good; the bookmarks were the most popular. ROs mentioned that they need smaller posters and tools in additional languages, ED specific according to the ethnic population. Some ROs specified that the I Can Vote poster was well used, that the Voting is Easy poster was very good, and that the ID Requirement poster was very popular. Some say that the posters contained the key information; others say that the messages need to be clearer.
The new products developed for the 41st GE were well received by ROs; some mentioned that the bookmarks and information cards were very useful. For some ROs, the magnets were useful and well received; for other ROs less so. In some cases, it was mentioned that some of the material received was not appropriate for their ED; as a pre-event task, ROs should be allowed to identify the quantity of each product they want to receive. Many felt they received too much material, especially too many magnets and bookmarks. In terms of promotional tools, it was mentioned by some that Elections Canada’s objectives are not clear, and that HQ needs to send clearer instructions as to the use of the material. ROs suggest that they should be briefed about the availability of all promotional tools, and to include the ROs when developing new tools.
Outreach function in the RO Office
For some ROs, the roles and responsibilities of the CRO are clear, but for other ROs, the roles of the CRO, recruitment and revision positions are not always clear; there is overlap between Revision and CROs. Often, interpretation is up to the RO in each ED; the roles became clearer during the process, but ROs did not have enough info/training on the various roles at the beginning. ROs want cooperation, not consolidation of the roles. The Revision Supervisor and CRO have gone out in teams; this would be very effective when visiting senior's residences. It is also mentioned that the CRO-Senior could work with the SBC to distribute information, assist in the completion of application forms and provide voting kits in senior's residences.
Most ROs took advantage of the Aboriginal, Elder and Youth Program. Some say it was very helpful with targeted revision; it helped organize the information going out to band members; others say there was not enough information on it, and not enough flexibility with hours. Outreach should be ongoing between elections, to mobilize electors now. It was also suggested that EC work with schools and teachers more between events: hold mock elections, find ways to incorporate knowledge of the electoral process into the curriculum, work opportunities for youth prior to event, etc. It was also mentioned that it would be good to do outreach to political parties before the election – a CRO position for relations with political parties could be created. Political parties encourage seniors to vote at the advance polls so they all show up on the first day, resulting in long line ups – during our outreach, we need to remind seniors that there is more than one day of advance polls.
Outreach Progression Report
ROs found this tool easy to use as long as it was completed on a Wednesday. They suggest reviewing the frequency that they have to complete it, perhaps make it one report at the end of the event. They also mentioned allowing a more flexible timeline for completion, or make it due at the end of the week. They suggest including a section for general comments where CROs can provide feedback on the program. They recommend allowing for the attachment of photos or other documents, and to create a section that would permit them to add contacts (universities, etc). They also think the questions were too repetitive. Some ROs are wondering why the outreach progression report could not be integrated with the event management system (EMS); others would like to see some deliverables identified to be measured; finally others suggest having more input by the CRO in the report. ROs feel that the tool creates a great opportunity to sit down with the CRO and review how the program is working; it encourages accountability. While it adds to the workload for the RO, it does give a bird's eye view of what is happening in the field.