Getting Started with UpVote
Find people you know. Start personal conversations. Help your campaign follow up.
Your relationships are your strongest contribution. This guide walks you through signing in, building your Outreach List, and reaching out at a thoughtful pace.
Download UpVote and sign in
- Open your campaign invitation and follow the download link for your phone.
- Sign in with the phone number your campaign used to invite you.
- Enter the verification code you receive to finish signing in.
If the code does not arrive or you cannot access the campaign, ask your campaign team to confirm your phone number and invitation.
Build a list of people you know
Your outreach list should reflect real relationships: friends, relatives, neighbors, coworkers, and others who will recognize you. Choose either of these ways to begin.
Use Contact Match
Allow contact access when prompted, then review suggested voter matches based on names, phone numbers, email addresses, or a combination.
- Open Contact Match and follow the contact-access prompts.
- Review the suggested voter record and confirm it belongs to the exact person you know.
- Save the matches you want to add to your outreach list. Skip incorrect or uncertain suggestions.
Add contacts manually
Prefer not to grant contact access? You can still participate.
- Open the app menu and tap Add Contact.
- Search the campaign’s voter database by name, phone number, or address.
- Check the voter’s details and save the correct person to your outreach list.
What happens when you save a match?
For a name-only match, confirming the match and saving the voter automatically saves the primary phone number from that person’s contact entry on your phone for outreach. You can edit it or add another number later.
If both the name and phone number match, that number already exists in the voter file. Confirming connects your contact to the existing voter record.
Your privacy and your choice
Contact access is optional. Granting access alone does not save your entire phone contact list to UpVote or make it visible to campaign admins. You choose which matches to save. Campaign admins can see saved contacts and outreach information; contacts you do not save remain private.
Saved contact data is stored temporarily for campaign outreach, never for any other purpose, and is deleted from UpVote after the campaign concludes.
Check the person, not just the name. Do not substitute a spouse, relative, or another voter with the same name. If you cannot confidently verify the match, skip it.
Reach out personally and pace your texts
Before using Bulk SMS, review your recipients and choose people who know you. A saved name on your phone does not guarantee they have your number saved on theirs. Include your name and enough personal context to help them recognize you.
Recipients per 10 hours
Keep outreach within 150 recipients in any rolling 10-hour period.
Recipients per hour
Reach up to 50 recipients in any 60-minute period, with breaks between small batches.
These are UpVote recommendations, not Apple-published thresholds or a guarantee against account restrictions.
Using WhatsApp?
Focus on existing, welcome conversations. Keep new outreach within 50 conversations per rolling 10 hours, spread throughout the day.
If UpVote shows an outreach reminder, pause to check your pace and replies. Campaigns can customize these warnings using message counts within a 10-hour period.
- Open your campaign’s outreach page and choose Bulk SMS.
- Use the available filters, such as support status or last contacted, to choose an appropriate group.
- Review every recipient. If you only see a phone number and do not know who it belongs to, skip it.
- Choose a campaign template and personalize it so it sounds like you.
- UpVote opens each prepared message in your phone’s texting app. Review it and tap Send. On Android, return to UpVote after each send to open the next message.
- Pause after each batch to respond and update your records before continuing.
Spread your outreach out rather than sending your hourly allowance in one rapid burst. If someone says you have the wrong person or asks you to stop, do not message them again.
Record replies and plan your follow-up
A useful conversation does more than deliver a message. Open the person’s record and update the support status, notes, or campaign questions based on what they actually tell you.
- Record responses while the conversation is fresh.
- Keep an uncertain answer uncertain. Do not assume support because someone is on your list.
- Use campaign instructions to decide who needs a follow-up and when.
- Only mark someone as voted after you have contacted them and received their confirmation, following your campaign’s instructions.
Stay connected and help your team grow
Check campaign announcements and notifications for new priorities. If your campaign assigns you a group, follow its instructions for that list. An assigned voter is not necessarily someone you personally know, so do not treat an assigned group as a personal Bulk SMS list.
Know someone who wants to volunteer? Use your campaign’s registration link or the in-app invitation option if it is available to you. Otherwise, ask your campaign team to invite them. Available actions depend on your campaign setup and permissions.
Your first-session checklist
- I can sign in and access my campaign.
- I chose Contact Match or the manual Add Contact option.
- I added a few people I know and checked that their voter records are correct.
- I understand what is saved when I confirm a name-only match.
- I know the SMS recommendations: 150 recipients per rolling 10 hours and 50 per hour, with small batches and breaks.
- I know how to record replies and ask my campaign team for help.
Watch the volunteer tutorial
The video below provides a walkthrough of the app. Use the written steps on this page for the updated Contact Match explanation and texting recommendations. Labels and available tools may vary by campaign and app version.
Common questions
Do I have to grant contact access?
No. Use Add Contact to search for voters individually and build your list without granting access to your phone contacts.
What if I cannot find the person I know?
Try the search details you have, then ask your campaign team for help. Do not choose a different person or a family member as a substitute.
Why does my app look different from the tutorial?
Campaign settings, your permissions, your phone, and the app version can affect labels and available tools. Follow the prompts in your app and ask your campaign team if you are unsure.
Does saving someone mean they support the campaign?
No. Knowing someone and knowing their support status are different things. Update their status based on their response, using your campaign’s instructions.
How much outreach should I start with?
Start with a few people you know and leave time for replies. For SMS and iMessage, keep outreach within 150 recipients per rolling 10 hours and up to 50 per hour. A rolling window means the previous 10 hours at any point, not a reset at midnight.
Your first goal: a few real conversations
You do not need a large list to make a useful contribution. Start with people who trust you, listen to their responses, and help your campaign follow up thoughtfully.