• Initial and updated voter files
  
• Board of Elections files for early vote or vote by mail
  
• Custom field updates like party or vote by mail status
  
• Volunteer lists and relationships
  

When you choose Upload Excel/CSV File, the first step is to select an Action Type. You will see a list of possible actions. You can type in the search bar at the top, for example “phone”, “tag”, “custom” or “volunteer”, and UpVote will filter the options.

Think of every action as belonging to one of three general categories:

Voter data

Use these when you are changing information stored on voter records.

• Add\Update voters into database
• Delete voters
• Update phone numbers
• Disassociate phone numbers from voters
• Update emails
• Update birth dates
• Update custom fields
• Update Multiple Custom Fields
• Add options to custom properties
• Change support status
• Flag voters as voted
• Set voters as not voted
• Flag voters as unsubscribed
  

Target and Delegate

Use these when you are organizing voters into segments or assigning work on them.

• Assign tag to voters
• Assign multiple tags to voters
• Delete tag from voters
• Assign task to voters
• Associate voters with volunteer
• Associate users with groups manager
• Connect Users To Phone Campaign
  

Volunteer Actions

Use these when you are creating volunteers or linking them with supporters.

• Create Volunteers
• Add volunteers with supporters
• Add Volunteers with To Be Determined list

How to upload a file

No matter which action you choose, the steps are similar:

1. Select Action Type in Upload Center.
2. Select search type that tells UpVote how to match records (we recommend voter ID)
3. Upload your Excel or CSV and map each column to the correct field or custom field.
4. Preview the data that UpVote reads from your file.
5. Approve the upload when everything looks correct.
   

Best practices

• When trying a new action, start with a small test file.
• Spot check a few records after each major upload.
• Coordinate with your UpVote rep for very large imports or complex changes.

The post Upload Center appeared first on UpVote Campaigns.

What you will learn in the video

• Read the Volunteers page and understand the key metrics that matter
• Fix the most common login issues in seconds
• Use filters to focus follow up on specific volunteers or managers
• Export to Excel for reporting and field coordination
• Apply bulk actions to update roles and permissions at once
• Set up Bulk SMS templates that give volunteers a strong, consistent starting point

Quick start

1. Open Volunteers in the Admin Portal.
2. Tap Manage columns to show only the fields you need.
3. Use filters to find who needs help or a nudge.
4. Select rows and use Bulk actions to assign roles, reset invites, or update permissions.
5. Go to Messaging to create or refine Bulk SMS templates that volunteers can personalize.

Key metrics, made simple

• Last login: who is active right now and who needs a reminder
• Contacts added: total reach per volunteer
• Messages sent: activity volume and consistency
• Supporters and vote plans: outcomes you can act on quickly

Fast fixes for common login issues

• If a volunteer cannot log in, confirm that their Main phone in Volunteers matches the number they enter for the one-time code.
• If not, update the number and resend the invite.

Pro tips

• Keep templates short, friendly, and personal. Volunteers should speak in their own voice.
• Celebrate progress. A quick “nice work” message in your group chat increases follow through.
• Use exports for daily standups and end-of-day check-ins.

The post Manage Volunteers Like a Pro appeared first on UpVote Campaigns.

Track Vote-by-Mail (VBM) Voters with UpVote

Length: 2 minutes
Recommended for: Campaign managers and admins who need to track VBM or early voting status.

Overview

Personalized follow-up is key to boosting turnout—and knowing who requested a mail ballot helps your team stay focused and effective. In this short video, you’ll learn how to use UpVote’s Upload Center and custom fields to track which supporters are voting by mail and follow up with them accordingly.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to create a custom field to track VBM status
• How to prepare your Excel sheet for upload
• How to use the Upload Center to update your voter list
• How to filter and follow up with VBM voters in the app

Watch the Tutorial Now

The post How to Update Vote-by-Mail Status in UpVote appeared first on UpVote Campaigns.

This tool logs:

• What field was changed
• The previous and new values
• The date and time of the update
• The name of the user who made the change

Whether you’re reviewing support status, contact details, or any other data, you can always see a full history of edits—so your team stays transparent and accountable.

How to Access Data Change History:

1. Go to the Voter Card
2. Click More Actions
3. Select Additional Information
4. Then click Data Change History

You’ll see a detailed table with all recent updates related to that voter.

Use this feature to better manage your data, troubleshoot issues, and keep a clear audit trail across your campaign.

The post Tracking Changes with Data Change History appeared first on UpVote Campaigns.

This feature is helpful when you want to give a volunteer or staff member a targeted list of voters to mobilize.

How to Do It:

1. Run a search in the Advanced Search screen using any filter criteria.
2. Click the three-dot icon (⋮) to open the action menu.
3. Select “Add the Voters to Activist.”
4. Choose the activist from the dropdown list.

That’s it! The selected voters are now added to that activist’s mobilization list.

This tool is perfect for quickly distributing outreach lists across your team based on geography, demographics, or support level.

The post Linking Voters to Volunteers or Staff through Advanced Search appeared first on UpVote Campaigns.

Guide to Custom Graphs

First, you need to go to the Advanced Search page in the admin portal, run a search based on your desired criteria, and then save it to your favorites. 

1. Go to the advanced search page in your admin portal.
2. Perform the relevant search from which you want to generate a graph.
3. Click on the star icon to save it as a favorite search.
   
   

The dynamic graph will be generated from the search results of the preferred search you selected.

1. Go to the main Dashboard page in your admin portal and click on the  button in the top row. The following pop-up will open:

2. Select a preferred search to generate the content of the graph. For example, a graph of all supporters in Elmsford.
3. Graph Type – You can choose whether the graph will be the format of a pie chart or a growth rate (quantitative) chart.
4. Group by Parameter – In the case of a pie chart, you need to select the parameter by which the graph will be created. You can choose multiple parameters, and a separate graph will be generated for each one.

To illustrate this, we will create two graphs:

• “Supporters in Elmsford” growth rate chart
• “Residents of Port Chester” pie chart by the support status parameter

If we want to add another graph to the screen, we will also mark it in the checkbox under “Manage Custom Graphs,” and if we want to delete the graphs we created, we need to uncheck the checkbox.

Now you can see the generated graphs on the main page:

Try it out, and see how custom graphs can help you stay on target!

The post Dynamic Dashboard – Custom Graphs appeared first on UpVote Campaigns.

Group

A group is a dynamic collection of voters based on specific criteria. The membership of this group can change automatically according to the criteria set. For example:

• If you create a group for voters living on “Grant Street,” any voter who updates their address to “Grant Street” will automatically be added to this group.
• Conversely, if a voter’s address changes from “Grant Street” to another street, they will automatically be removed from this group.

Tag

A tag is a static label that you can assign to voters. Unlike groups, tagged voters will remain tagged regardless of any changes to their information unless the tag is manually removed. suitable especially if the criteria is not av

How to Decide

Depending on your campaign’s needs, you can choose between a dynamic group and a fixed tag:

• Dynamic Group: Use this if the parameters for the voters are subject to change.
• Fixed Tag: Use this if it is a closed group with criteria that do not change – for example, a tag for participants in a specific conference.

By understanding these differences, you can better manage and organize your voter lists to optimize your campaign efforts.

1. Go to “Advanced Search” page.
2. Select filters as desired.
3. Click on the search icon.

1. After performing the search, click on the three dots.
2. To create a group, click “Create group from parameters.”
3. To create a tag, click “Add tag to search results.”

If you chose to create a group – choose a title for the group -> and then click “Save.”

If you chose to create a tag – you can assign the search results to an existing tag or create a new tag.

After creating the group/tag, you can see it and the assigned voters on the Groups or Tags page.

The post Creating a Group/Tag appeared first on UpVote Campaigns.

Step 1: Choose The Volunteer You Want To Connect To A Group

Navigate to Volunteer Dashboard in the Admin portal and click on “More Details” for the volunteer you want to assign to a group.

Step 2: Enter the Manager Tab of the Details Card

Click on the “Manager” tab and Select “Manage Groups for this User.”

You will now see the group’s name under “Connected Groups.”

The post Connecting Groups to Managers appeared first on UpVote Campaigns.

There are two categories of custom fields:

• Fields you already know the values of, populated from data uploads (voter file or BOE data). Common examples: political party, vote-by-mail status.
  
• Fields you ask volunteers to fill out based on their conversations with contacts. Common examples: candidate ID, vote plan.

Custom fields give you better targeting and much clearer reporting on virtually any metric or data point you are collecting. 

To Add a custom field

1. Go to the Custom Fields page in the Admin Portal.
   
2. Click Add to create a new field.
   
3. Choose the field type:
   • Dropdown menu
   • Free text
   • Date
     
4. For a dropdown, you will add the options (for example: “Independent”, “Democrat”, “Republican”, “Unaffiliated”).
   
5. Set the parameter name
   
   • Pick a clear, short name like “Party”, “Vote by mail status”, “Candidate ID”, “Vote plan”.
     
6. Set visibility options:
   
   • Show on the voter details card for each contact
   • Show on the main screen of the app under each contact’s name
   • Show during the supporter addition stage (this is only relevant for custom field data you will populate via upload)
     

Updating custom field values

There are two ways to fill or change custom field values: Manual Update and Bulk Upload.

Manual Update

Manual Update is for changing custom fields one voter at a time. Open a voter’s record in the admin portal or UpVote app, edit the custom field on screen, and save.

Update via Excel in Upload (recommended for large data)

Use this when you have a file from your voter file provider or BOE.

1. Go to the Upload Center.
2. Start a new upload and choose Update Custom Fields or Update Multiple Custom Fields.
3. Choose your search type (usually match by Voter ID).
4. Under Additional fields, select the custom field(s) you want to update (for example, Party or Vote by mail status).
5. Upload your Excel or CSV file and map the columns as shown on screen.
6. Review the preview to confirm each value matches the correct voter.
7. Approve the upload to apply the updates.

This is how you bulk populate fields like political party and vote by mail status across thousands of records. Be sure to visit the Upload Center when you are done and tap ‘Upload Details’ to download a report showing which rows were successfully updated and check for errors. 

3. Best practices for core custom fields

UpVote recommends that most campaigns:

• Use uploads to populate: Political party and Vote by mail status (If you are getting data updates on votes counted during the mail-in voting period) 
• Ask volunteers to populate: Candidate ID (which candidate or slate a voter supports in multi candidate environments) and Vote plan (early vote, vote by mail, Election Day, already voted, etc.)

When you combine uploaded data with information volunteers collect in the field, Advanced Search becomes one of your most powerful tools. You can quickly target segments like “likely supporters with mail ballots who do not yet have a clear vote plan” and assign them for relational outreach in UpVote. Custom fields are what make this level of targeting possible, so define them carefully and keep them updated as a core part of your GOTV strategy.

The post Custom Fields appeared first on UpVote Campaigns.