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RAISING VOICES IN CLOSING SPACES Strategic Communications Planning for Nonpartisan Citizen Election Observer Groups Table of Contents Acknowledgements Acronyms 1. Introduction and Summary 2. What Are You Trying To Accomplish? Setting Goals, Strategies, and Tactics 3. Who Are You Talking To? Identifying Your Audience 4. What Do You Want To Say? Developing a Frame and Message 5. How Will You Say It? Identifying The Best Format 6. Where Will You Say It? Identifying The Best Platform 7. Can We Try Something Different? Creative Communications Strategies 8. Is It Working? Evaluation and Analysis 9. What If Something Goes Wrong? Crisis Communications 10. Who Is Going To Do All This Work? Staffing & Resources 11. What Have Others Tried? Case Studies Case Study: YouTube Stars Interview President Obama Case Study: Telling Stories in Support of LGBTI Rights Case Study: Live Streaming Election Day Case Study: Creative, Ongoing Tactics for Increased Engagement Case Study: Poking Fun at the Aging Central Election Commission Case Study: “Communications Is Everyone’s Business” 12. Additional Resources 13. Photo Credits 3 Acknowledgements This guidebook was written by Francoise Stovall with resources are available online at https://www.ndi.org/ input from Julia Brothers, Sarah Cooper, Johandra ndi-publications-election-monitoring. Delgado, Michael McNulty, and Amanda Pleasant Note that the examples of social media, messaging, and with overall guidance from Pat Merloe. Phil and other communications platforms used throughout Brondyke designed the style of this guide. The National this guide, including details about their interface, Democratic Institute (NDI) wishes to thank all the analytical tools, and capabilities, are reflective of when citizen election observation groups, including the this document was written and produced in 2019. members of the Global Network of Domestic Election Platforms frequently introduce new features and tools, Monitors (GNDEM), that provided examples, lessons while new platforms are developed and others may be learned, and photos from their own outreach and discontinued. Those using this guide should research communications efforts and whose experiences have updates made to these services as part of developing been reflected in this publication. their communications strategies and plans. The development of this publication was made possible The National Democratic Institute (NDI) is a nonprofit, through a grant from the National Endowment for nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization that Democracy (NED). This guidebook complements other responds to the aspirations of people around the world resources by NDI on electoral integrity and citizen to live in democratic societies that recognize and election observation, such as NDI’s handbooks: How promote basic human rights. Since its founding in 1983, Domestic Organizations Monitor Elections, The Quick NDI and its local partners have worked to support and Count and Election Observation, Media Monitoring strengthen democratic institutions and practices by to Promote Democratic Elections, Monitoring and strengthening political parties, civic organizations and Mitigating Electoral Violence Through Nonpartisan parliaments, safeguarding elections, and promoting Citizen Election Observation, and Votes Without citizen participation, openness and accountability in Violence: A Citizen Observer’s Guide to Addressing government. Violence against Women in Elections. These and other 4 Acronyms BERSIH 2.0 Gabungan Pilihanraya Bersih dan Adil (Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections) CEC Central Election Commission of Ukraine CODEO Coalition of Domestic Election Observers CRM customer relationship manager CRTA Centar za istraživanje, transparentnost i odgovornost (Center for Research, Transparency a and Accountability) CSOs civil society organizations GDPR European Union General Data Protection Regulations ISFED სამართლიანი არჩევნებისა და დემოკრატიის საერთაშორისო საზოგადოება (International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy) LGBTI lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex MOCHA Manager, Owner, Consultant, Helper, Approver NDI National Democratic Institute NGO non-governmental organization OPORA (Civil Network OPORA) Громадянська мережа ОПОРА PACE People’s Alliance for Credible Elections PII personally identifiable information PVT parallel vote tabulation R2C Right To Choose SMART Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-sensitive SMS short message service (text messages) YIAGA AFRICA Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth & Advancement 5 1 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY Nonpartisan citizen election observation groups and include government officials and legislators, as well other civil society organizations (CSOs) work hard every as media, advocacy groups, businesses, and citizens day organizing citizens, collecting and analyzing data, in general. In relatively closed societies, traditional and making the case for democratic reforms. In more media, legislators, and businesses may be controlled by closed environments, they also must push back against autocratic power structures, making it harder to reach infringements by authoritarian power structures. Over citizens and to effect change. To be effective, election the past three-plus decades, the citizen-based electoral observer groups’ reports, analyses, and narratives need integrity movement spread to more than 100 countries to break through, grab attention, and spur action. and involved more than four million activists. Working Authoritarians know this, of course, and have taken to defend and advance universal and equal suffrage steps to block, muffle, or discredit these groups and through a free and informed choice simultaneously their findings. This includes making false accusations reinforces democratic norms and exposes the repression that they are instruments of foreign governments, and political corruption of autocrats. That’s why creating government-organized nongovernmental frustrating citizen election observation is a goal for organizations (GONGOs) to dilute the voices of genuine those who seek to close democratic space and why it is civic activists, and using “zombie” international important to invigorate citizen election observation to observers to produce reports claiming that fraudulent meet the challenges of closing environments. elections are credible. Regimes are also using cyber Robust and thoughtful election observation and analysis attacks, online repression and disinformation tactics to can only foster democratic progress if compelling discredit and intimidate citizen observer groups as well messages reach changemakers. In an open society they as broader civil society. 6 NDI photo Strategies to close political space and control media in Communications strategies need to be updated to many parts of the world are designed to limit the impact take into account the effects not only of authoritarian of democratic activists and to tamp down any popular regimes, but also of conflicts and violence, weak or movements demanding accountability and change. unprofessional media institutions, underdeveloped Thus, citizen election observer groups have increasingly technological infrastructure, and the promises and become the target of repression tactics that are also used pitfalls of digital and social media. Every country faces against civil society groups more broadly. These include its own special mix of these challenges; thus, this guide passing laws and regulations that make it difficult, if is designed not as a one-size-fits-all solution, but to not impossible, for groups to gain and maintain legal provide an adaptive process that will help users to status, or that ban the monitoring of electoral and identify and work around the specific challenges they political processes. Foreign funding or even technical and their organization face. assistance to CSOs has been banned in several countries, It is also true that not all communications challenges and cyber security laws have been weaponized to come in the form of outside threats. Sometimes the restrict their work. Authorities have raided the offices of challenges are internal -- leadership that doesn’t citizen observer groups, and have threatened, harassed, prioritize or understand the importance of effective arrested, and imprisoned their leaders and activists. communications, a lack of resources or funding to The National Democratic Institute (NDI) has worked carry out certain strategies, insufficient staff to do the closely with citizen election observation groups work, or a lack of expertise in how to plan or carry out throughout the world for more than 30 years. Drawing effective communications. This guide seeks to build on this work and, most importantly, the experiences of internal expertise and capacity as well as make the case our partners, it is clear that many citizen observation for increased support, resources, and staff dedicated to groups face significant challenges in adapting their communications. communications strategies to effectively address these This guide is primarily intended to help citizen election changing realities. While they may be nimble and observation groups and other CSOs promoting electoral strategic about overcoming authoritarian roadblocks to integrity to increase their impact with creative and conducting their observation work, they have often had artful communications. It focuses particularly on less success in adapting their communications to break ways to break through in closing and closed political through in the digital

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