Figuring out what items you need for your elections office outreach booth efforts can seem overwhelming but I've got you covered! Rest easy knowing the essentials with this list of top 10 items to have at the ready.

My first year of elections outreach was full of trial and error when it came to building out a workable kit of booth supplies to bring with me to outreach events. While my elections office had some supplies like a tent, table, and chairs available for me to use at the outset, there were items we ended up having to purchase (or replace, like the tent!) that made a major difference in our efforts. Some items we purchased and then rarely ended up using (such as a large banner and a prize wheel).

The following quick guide has a list of 10 critical items you need to have for your outreach booth as well as an explanation for why you need each item (which will help make it easy to justify the purchase approval to your manager)

THE SUMMARY LIST

1. 6ft. or 8 ft. table

2. logoed tablecloth/tablerunner

3. chair(s) per outreach employee

4. 8x8ft. or 10x10ft. tent

5. tent weights

6. printed informational handouts

7. flyer stands/ brochure stands

8. bulk swag items (logoed optional but suggested)

9. wheelie-bins/ carts

10. Fans (per outreach employee)

    
    

WHY YOU NEED A TABLE

Whether your event that your attending is inside or outside, you are more than likely attending as a "vendor" and need to fit in as one. All vendors have a table in order to display the wares they're selling or information of services they're providing to the public.

You'll be using your table surface to display informational handouts- draw the eyes of voters to lure them in to talk to you. As voters come to your table, engage them in conversation and educate them on electoral processes. The table also should have your swag displayed on top of it- another visual draw for voters to engage.

Between 6 ft. and 8 ft. long is the average size for a vendor table spread. It's fine if you have shorter tables that you use can together to achieve the same amount of display space, especially if you can tie the tables visually together by covering them under the same tablecloth.

WHY YOU NEED A LOGOED TABLECLOTH AND/OR TABLERUNNER

Having your elections office logo loud and proud on the front of your booth table is important! It allows for the public to recognize who you are and helps foster positive mental connections between in-person interactions with you at the event with your office's branding. Humans develop and communicate meaning through symbols. Use your logo to your advantage when doing outreach to build community trust in elections processes and services.

WHY YOU NEED CHAIRS

Chairs are for comfort, safety, and accessibility. Events can last for hours and your outreach employees deserve to be comfy while working. Standing for long periods of time can be difficult and it is safer for employees to have somewhere to be able to sit. Also, having an extra chair available to offer to a voter visiting your booth is a matter of both courtesy and accessibility. Voters with disabilities may benefit from being offered a seat in order to talk with you, fill out a registration form, or have a moment in order to read informational handouts.

Folding chairs are useful for transporting, especially if they are lightweight! An alternative option may be chairs with wheels if you have to walk long distances to reach your booth spot because you can just push a chair along and stack items on the seat like a cart. From personal experience though, wheeled chairs become tricky when packing and unpacking from cargo vans.

WHY YOU NEED A TENT

If you do any kind out outside outreach event, you need an outside event tent! Your outreach employees need to be protected from the elements first and foremost. If it's sunny, It gets HOT. If it's raining, it's going to POUR. Your employees and the booth set up deserve to be covered.

Tents can get a bit pricy; it will definitely be your most expensive purchase. Before you purchase one, first dig around in storage and then ask around other county departments to see if there is a spare one not in use that you can claim!

If you do decide to purchase one and you are given the go-ahead to splurge just a little bit, put your elections office logo on the tent top on at least one side.

For tent sizing, go for an 8x8ft. or a 10x10ft. tent to ensure you have enough space for both your table set up, you and another employee, and a few visiting voters to fit underneath the tent canopy.

(Pro tip: Once you have a tent, practice putting it up before you go to your first event! The tents my office had on hand before I was hired were not Emma-friendly. I am 4ft11' and too short to set the tents up! I bring my spouse along to my outdoor events to set up the tent because I'm unable to do so safely if alone (which I normally am). We're now looking into a new tent to purchase this fiscal year and are crossing fingers it'll be easier to set up.)

WHY YOU NEED TENT WEIGHTS

Outside event organizers always require vendors to bring their own tent weights, between 25-30 lbs per leg of the tent depending on the event contract you sign. Tent stakes normally aren't allowed, but other options such as hanging weights, sand bags, and water weights are.

These are, unfortunately, the most annoying of all the items to transports but do make for a good workout if you like to multitask.

WHY YOU NEED INFORMATIONAL HANDOUTS

What are you even doing elections outreach for if not engaging your public in order to educate them about election processes and successful participation practices? Break knowledge barriers! Bring that helpful literature! Make sure you have registration forms on hand too.

You might need to print some literature if you don't have any yet. I suggest flyers and trifold brochures on important topics your office frequently gets questions about or general topics you want the public to be more aware of such as combatting disinformation or disability accessibility.

WHY YOU NEED FLYER STANDS AND TRIFOLD BROCHURE STANDS

This one seems pretty straight forward. These stands keep your paper handouts neat and tidy and keep your booth looking clean and professional. Using these on your table also allow for more table space for items like registration forms, swag, and possibly the display of an Accessible Voting Unit device. As a bonus, stands help with in-office storage of your booth materials in between events too.

WHY YOU NEED BULK SWAG ITEMS

People love free things. People love feeling rewarded. We, as outreach people, love it when people take items that have our brand logo on it home with them. Why? Because our logo is a reminder to the person of elections and all the meanings which the person associates with with elections and our office!

The more durable, long lasting, and useful a swag item is, the longer that symbolic reminder of elections will be present in that persons life. The more positive and delightful an experience we can generate with a swag item for a person, the more positive a relationship the person will create an association with your elections office.

We're doing a little bit of psychology work with swag-giving here. Building bonds and making memories by giving away little free gifts that are hopefully useful, durable, and/or delightful in some way.

It doesn't have to have your logo on it. but it should be blatantly elections themed.

Some suggestions are:

• logoed pens (useful; durable)

• fridge magnets (useful;durable)

• hard candies (delightful)

• logoed stickers (delightful)

• spirit beads (delightful)

• water bottles (useful; - slap some stickers on them)

• weather-appropriate hats or sunglasses (useful; durable)

• hand-held American flags (surprisingly delightful)

WHY YOU NEED A WHEELIE BIN (OR WHEELED CART)

The simple answer is: to carry all your stuff!

Do yourself a favor and get a wheeled carrier (or a few) with a telescopic handle to make transport of your items as easy as possible. Packing in and packing out is much simpler when you only have to do one trip for "everything else" that isn't your tent or table. Literally don't sweat the small stuff doing multiple back and forth trips with armfuls of swag and decorations. Keep it all in one place and transportable in a wheelie bin!

WHY YOU NEED A FAN (OR A FEW)

Let's face it; if you're going to be doing any outside events it is going to get HOT. Do yourself and your other outreach employees a favor and get a portable fan per employee to help circulate air in the tent, especially if you opt to put up any tent sides. (If you put up any tent sidings, it will quickly turn into a heat trap.) Trust me, you want to avoid heat exhaustion at all costs, but it especially sucks when you're on the clock.

Don't forget to purchase batteries (and then back up batteries) for your fans.

Some ideas for multi-use fans to get more bang-for-your-buck:

• A fan that can clip and hang or transition into being a tabletop fan

• A fan that has a water mister feature

• A fan that has a light feature for when you're doing an evening event

• A personal wearable necklace fan

Do you have any ideas or tried and true items that are absolutely critical for elections outreach booth efforts? Please leave a comment for others to be inspired by and discuss!

Thanks for reading,

-EMW