Admin guide · Automations
Setting Up Automations and Triggers
Configure volunteer reminders, set sending hours, and manage notifications when voter status changes.
Automations help your team follow up consistently. Use them for relevant reminders and progress updates, alongside personal support from campaign staff and team leads.
Automations tab
Reminders and updates
Choose an action, timing, delivery channel, and message.
Triggers tab
Vote-status notifications
Manage the notification linked to a change in a voter’s voting status.
1. Choose an automation action
Open Automations in the Admin Portal. On the Automations tab, click the plus (+) button to add an automation.
| Action | How you might use it |
|---|---|
| Users who haven’t been active for X days | Invite volunteers to return and offer help getting started again. |
| Users who haven’t added supporters at all | Help new volunteers begin building their Outreach List. |
| Users who haven’t added supporters for X days | Encourage volunteers to review their list and add people they know. |
| Updates regarding the amount of voted supporters | Share recorded voting progress. This action uses an Hours Interval. |
| Users who haven’t finished matching contacts | Remind volunteers to return to Contact Match and review suggestions. |
The menu retains “supporters” in some labels. In volunteer-facing instructions, refer to their Outreach List.
2. Configure the message
- Description: Give the automation a name your team will recognize.
- Active: Choose whether it should be enabled. The new-automation form defaults to Active, so review this before saving.
- Choose Action: Select the condition or update you want to use.
- Timing: Complete Choose number of days or Hours Interval, depending on the action.
- Send By: Choose a delivery channel available in your account. Smith Campaign Demo currently offers Notification and Text.
- Content: Write a brief, relevant message. Use Add Personalization to insert available recipient details.
- Review the settings, then click Save. Choose Cancel to leave without creating it.
Choose the channel deliberately. App notifications require users to allow notifications. Text messages use your campaign’s admin SMS service; review SMS credits before enabling text automations. The form also displays character and SMS-segment counts.
Example reminder: “Need help getting started? Open UpVote to review your Outreach List, or contact your campaign team for a quick walkthrough.”
3. Set allowed sending hours
Click Allowed Sending Hours on the Automations tab. For each day, review Allow Send, Opens at, and Closes at. Save each day’s changes using its Save button.
The dialog states that a message scheduled outside the allowed hours will be delivered during the next available sending window.
Choose hours appropriate for your volunteers and coordinate them with other campaign communications. Confirm your account’s timezone with your UpVote representative if it is unclear.
4. Manage vote-status triggers
Switch to Triggers. The current page includes Vote status change, which sends a notification to the volunteer when a voter’s voting status changes in the system.
- Use the Active switch to control whether the trigger is enabled.
- Click Edit template to change the Notification title, Message for one supporter, and Message for multiple supporters.
- Review the wording before saving. Keep any name placeholder intact unless you intend to change how the message is personalized.
A system update is not live polling-place data. Voting notifications reflect status changes recorded in UpVote. Their accuracy depends on your campaign’s data and reporting.
5. Review existing automations
The Automations table shows Description, Send By, Choose Action, Interval, Active, and controls for Send Now and Edit. It also includes creation dates.
Use Edit to review an automation, and its Active control to enable or disable it. Send Now is a sending action; review the audience and content before using it.
Search, filters, Manage Columns, and Export To CSV help you review your setup. Periodically check for overlapping reminders so volunteers receive useful follow-up rather than repeated prompts.
Reviewed in Smith Campaign Demo. No automations, schedules, or trigger templates were saved, and no messages were sent. Channel availability may vary by account.