Written by Adam Bink, Best-Case Scenario Staff
The other day, I was advising a prospective client — a nonprofit with a staff of about 60 — and I asked if the organization had been doing any election planning. The individual immediately started talking about the post-election period — how the organization was worried about violence in D.C., online and offline attacks on staff and volunteers, how the election would impact the organization’s fundraising and so forth.
I then asked if the nonprofit had done any planning for before the election — as in, now. The individual said yes; the organization encouraged staff to register to vote, take a few hours off to vote, and so forth. But when I explained that I meant establishing norms of nonviolence and respect for fellow voters and volunteers, making sure temperatures stay cool so things don’t get out of hand, the individual looked at me quizzically.
The overwhelming majority of Americans support peaceful elections and reject violence. So many organizations are already doing excellent work to secure a free, fair and peaceful election. For organizations that haven’t yet done this work or need a helping hand to complete it, our team at Team Best-Case Scenario, a project that Spitfire launched this year, decided to host a Design Studio on Oct. 22. Attended by dozens of frontline organizers, academics, experts, funders and nonprofit leaders and co-hosted by Over Zero, we reviewed recommendations for why and how it is important to do the pre-election work so we all can enjoy safe, healthy civic spaces. These recommendations include:
- Establish norms. Norms like “leave no trace” and “don’t text and drive” are community driven and established with shared understanding and role modeling. As my colleagues Kristen and Michael write in this piece, “We can reset the norm that we want to live by. As community leaders and even everyday citizens we each have a responsibility to ourselves and our communities we exist within to set and live by the standards we wish to see in the world.” It’s possible to establish a norm for engaging in civic spaces too, such as treating others with respect and modeling healthy disagreement. Now is the time to accelerate work to do this or start it, if you haven’t. When people follow norms, healthy engagement follows.
- What we do now will impact what our post-election world will look like. Now is the time to emphasize that elections officials are doing their jobs, and intimidation isn’t an acceptable community value. Now is the time to respond to disinformation, like election officials are aggressively doing to push back on Elon Musk. If we cool temps now, we’ll get cool temps later.
Because we like to walk the walk on this, check out news coverage of the billboards we bought with partners in Springfield, Ohio, to support the Haitian community. - When things do get out of hand, it’s important to have a plan already in place. Cognitive science shows that when we are stressed and in crisis mode, it’s hard to do our best work. Spitfire’s Smart Plan tool is free and easy to use — a six-step process to having a response plan in place.
As a San Franciscan, the example I cite is of Mayor London Breed. In early 2020, after San Francisco became the first major city to order “shelter in place” as COVID-19 began, Breed was asked in an interview how she knew to take this action. “Well,” she said, “I have a file cabinet in my office, and in that file cabinet are response plans. We have one for an earthquake, one for a tsunami, and so forth. I selected the one labeled ‘global pandemic,’ which we developed with public health experts at the University of California, San Francisco, and our city’s Department of Public Health.”
Model this. Have a Smart Plan in place informed by the best experts so if you need it, you can just open a file folder and go to “Step 1.” - As you respond, consider context + timeliness + audience. For example, what is the intent of the violence or intimidation? How widespread is it? Make sure your response is timely — not just fast — and verify information before sharing it. Consider who (specifically) your audience is, what they are feeling and experiencing, and the mediums and messengers to reach them. What is your ask of this audience?
Remember the 3 A’s: Appeal (to shared values), Affirm (set and affirm positive norms), and Act (provide clear and positive actions). - Review and praise. Establishing norms doesn’t just happen before a major event. You can take steps afterward. Think about how you praise and reward a child for sharing a treat with a sibling. This signals a norm to a child — and what they get if they follow the norm of “sharing.” For elections, showcase and praise role modeling where it exists, such as healthy conflict, respectful disagreement, or how polling places in such and such state or county were overwhelmingly calm and peaceful. For example, this heartwarming piece reviews how two owners of food-related small-businesses in San Francisco, one Israeli-American and one Palestinian-American, bring people together each week to find respectful common ground on the conflict in the Middle East.
Political violence is a threat to us all. It amplifies extremist activity, exacerbates fears, sows chaos, chills civic engagement and more. That’s why it is so important to act to prevent it. I’m happy to report the prospective client is following these steps, as are many other clients with whom Spitfire works, and many organizations across our nation. What’s more, Team Best-Case Scenario offers this advice to all who need it. If you need help getting started or want to review what you’re doing to establish norms or create a response plan, contact bestcasescenario@spitfirestrategies.com. You can also sign up for an office hour with the experts at Over Zero by clicking here or visiting www.electionviolenceprevention.org. (Over Zero’s presentation at the Design Studio informed many of the recommendations in this blog post, and we at Team Best-Case Scenario extend our appreciation to Over Zero for its time and willingness.)
Last, remember that “Election Day” is now. Here in California, I personally voted by mail two weeks ago, and San Francisco has already seen record early in-person turnout in states like Georgia. The time to get to work is now. Happy voting, and let’s work together to secure safe and healthy civic spaces.