DYB Election Day Driver Guide

November 2, 2020:

Hi drivers! Thank you so much for helping us get voters to the polls in the 2020 general election. Below you’ll find a comprehensive guide to help set expectations, answer questions, and communicate best practices for Tuesday, Nov 3. If you have a question about the Guide, please don’t hesitate to ask us.

Best,

Drive Your Ballot

 What You Need

  1. Pay attention to Slack. If you’re not already on Slack and checking #ride-requests-philly and the #election-day-driving channels, please do so. We suggest downloading Slack to your phone if you don’t already have it. Check these channels frequently during Election Day. All ride requests will be posted in #ride-requests-philly, whereas updates, and tactical adjustments will be posted in  #election-day-driving. 

  2. Make sure you are verified. If you have been given a verification link, make sure you have uploaded a photo of your driver’s license, insurance, and registration, and signed the Driver Agreement. If you haven’t gotten a link, message @DYB Dispatch.

  3. PPE. Wear a mask, and make sure (respectfully) your passengers wear one too. Drive Your Ballot has access to plenty of masks and hand sanitizer to provide if you do not have your own: Just message @DYB Dispatch. You have the right to refuse a ride to anyone who refuses to wear a mask. 

How it Works

If you see an unclaimed ride request in the #ride-requests-philly channel that you want to do, claim it! @DYB Dispatch will then follow up with contact information for the voter. You then call the voter to coordinate the pickup time.

Guidelines

  • You can confirm your voter’s polling place by using the DYB Poll Finder tool https://www.driveyourballot.com/poll-finder If the voter’s polling location is not listed, contact @DYB Dispatch

  • If you’re reading this, that means you can claim a ride request in #ride-requests-philly at any time! (Don’t worry; we’ll make sure you’re verified.)

  • Whenever possible, stay at or near the polling place while voters vote. Lines will sometimes be long, but we should have enough drivers to escort every individual voter request. 

  • If you are unable to stay with a voter during the process, make sure to (1) confirm that your voter is carrying a cell phone & is comfortable using it, (2) notify @DYB Dispatch on Slack, (3) give the voter your cell phone number, and (4) give the voter the number of the driver that will be picking them up on the return trip.

  • If you have a question or if something comes up before, during, or after your ride, contact us immediately. Defer to messaging @DYB Dispatch on Slack first. However, in case of emergencies or lack of response on Slack, call the hotline at 1 (855) 848-0950.

  • As a DYB driver, you are asked to not talk politics with passengers, and should (for your own safety and self-interest) assume that you are being recorded at all times.

  • Whenever possible, accommodate voters’ requests, but don’t be afraid to say no. We are providing a free service to the community. We have had voters request rides to grocery stores or appointments after voting. If you are comfortable fulfilling the request, you may. But remember you have signed up first and foremost to get people to and from the polls.

  • Spread the word! Oftentimes voters who don’t have a ride might have friends that also don’t have rides. Ask them if they know anyone else who needs a ride, and then contact those people (or have the voter do it while you’re with them) to set up more rides.

  • Learn more about voting. Our partner, West/Southwest Philly Votes, has compiled Frequently Asked Questions for voting in Philadelphia. Reading this document can help you answer questions your voters may have.

What to Expect

  • You may not be matched with a ride request. At this point, we have significantly more drivers than Election Day ride requests. That being said, this could change suddenly, and we need to be prepared for a possible flood of demand for rides.

  • It’s possible that lines at polling places will be long. Bring books, podcasts, or something to pass the time. Be prepared with your phone charger as well. 

  • You’re probably not going to be assigned more than 3 active ride requests at any one time. There are multiple reasons for this: (1) We’ve noticed that rides can take several hours each from start to finish, (2) we want to leverage our significant driver capacity.

How to Help without Driving

This is our first year ever running the program; we have no idea how many requests we will get. It’s possible not every driver will be paired with a voter. It’s also possible we will be swimming in ride requests, though this seems less likely. That said, there are many things we can do to help on Election Day, including helping keep people in lines, delivering food and supplies, and helping spread the word of the hotline at the polls. If you would like to help ensure that we get more ride requests and we all have plenty to do, please share this post (if you’re in Philly) and make sure to have your Philly friends share it as well: https://www.facebook.com/driveyourballot/posts/117051516845748