Nominee for Most Valuable Campaign
#marriage2012: The first-ever marriage victories at the ballot
Nominee Information
What innovative approaches did the campaign take?
Prior to this year, marriage for same-sex couples was 0-32 at the ballot. As more states passed bipartisan marriage bills and federal courts ruled that marriage discrimination is unconstitutional, opponents of the freedom to marry still held on to their last desperate talking point: there had never been a victory at the ballot box.
But that all changed this year. For the first time in history, voters approved the freedom to marry at the ballot box in Maine, Maryland, and Washington. And in Minnesota, voters defeated an anti-gay constitutional amendment that would permanently ban marriage for same-sex couples.
To say that each of these campaigns faced and effectively responded to challenges is an understatement. Opponents, led by the National Organization for Marriage, were equipped with anonymous millionaire donors, harmful messages that worked in other states like California in 2008, and a pretty successful track record.
Each campaign built some of the largest grassroots operations that their states had ever seen. Combined, they recruited over 30,000 made more than 4 million phone calls and knocked on a half a million doors to talk with voters about why marriage matters to same-sex couples.
Each campaign also employed sophisticated Communications and Digital strategies, engaging hundreds of thousands of supporters, donors, and volunteers through email, social media, and innovative new tools that integrated Facebook with the state voter file.
What change did this campaign hope to create?
Plain and simple: each campaign sought to secure crucial marriage victories at the ballot, and that's exactly what they did. Because of their work, tens of thousands of gay and lesbian couples will soon be able to marry in Maine, Maryland, and Washington and the harmful amendment banning marriage for same-sex couples will not be added to Minnesota state constitution
What was creative or different about this campaign?
Each of these campaigns (Mainers United for Marriage, Marylanders for Marriage Equality, Minnesotans United for all Families, and Washington United for Marriage) knew that they had their work cut out for them, so they started early. Messaging on previous marriage campaigns had failed to move undecided voters and combat anti-gay attacks from the opposition, so the campaigns knew that they had to develop new messaging in order to win.
They conducted years of intensive research, held countless focus groups, and rigorously tested every aspect of TV ads and mailers to ensure that each message that the campaign sent out effectively resonated with undecided voters, and emphasized that loving and committed same-sex couples want to marry for similar reasons that all couples want to marry.
And it worked. Voters responded to the newfound emphasis on love and commitment and attacks from the opposition -- the very same attacks that led to defeats in California in 2008 and Maine in 2009 -- didn't do as much damage as they had in the past.
The campaigns learned from the past and created the new, innovative ways of reaching voters that were absolutely vital to winning at the ballot.
How did the campaign motivate the nominator to participate?
Each campaign built diverse, broad-based coalitions that were integral parts of the overall campaign structure. Overall, the campaigns received over 2,000 endorsements from local faith, business, and civic organizations. Coalition building enabled the campaigns to reach a wide array of supporters and voters who were crucial to success on Election Day, particularly among people of color, communities of faith, and labor. Because of this, they successfully made the case that the freedom to marry isn't just something that impacts same-sex couples and their families. Instead, marriage for same-sex couples is a matter of extending critical protections and respect to all loving and committed couples in the state.
More broadly, each campaign had a highly engaged base of grassroots volunteers who were committed to the campaigns because they knew that they a hand in making history not only in their respective states, but for LGBT people across the country.
Additional Comments
Because of the work of Mainers United for Marriage, Marylanders for Marriage Equality, Minnesotans United for all Families, and Washington United for Marriage, the landscape of the movement to win the freedom to marry nationwide will be forever changed. They secured the first-ever marriage wins at the ballot, but they certainly won't be the last.
It's not every day that as organizers, we get to literally change the course of history. But that's exactly what these four campaigns accomplished on November 6th.
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Submitted By Sean Carlson
- Relationship to Nominee: Supporter
Nominee Information
What innovative approaches did the campaign take?
Prior to this year, marriage for same-sex couples was 0-32 at the ballot. As more states passed bipartisan marriage bills and federal courts ruled that marriage discrimination is unconstitutional, opponents of the freedom to marry still held on to their last desperate talking point: there had never been a victory at the ballot box. But that all changed this year. For the first time in history, voters approved the freedom to marry at the ballot box in Maine, Maryland, and Washington. And in Minnesota, voters defeated an anti-gay constitutional amendment that would permanently ban marriage for same-sex couples. To say that each of these campaigns faced and effectively responded to challenges is an understatement. Opponents, led by the National Organization for Marriage, were equipped with anonymous millionaire donors, harmful messages that worked in other states like California in 2008, and a pretty successful track record. Each campaign built some of the largest grassroots operations that their states had ever seen. Combined, they recruited over 30,000 made more than 4 million phone calls and knocked on a half a million doors to talk with voters about why marriage matters to same-sex couples. Each campaign also employed sophisticated Communications and Digital strategies, engaging hundreds of thousands of supporters, donors, and volunteers through email, social media, and innovative new tools that integrated Facebook with the state voter file.
What change did this campaign hope to create?
Plain and simple: each campaign sought to secure crucial marriage victories at the ballot, and that's exactly what they did. Because of their work, tens of thousands of gay and lesbian couples will soon be able to marry in Maine, Maryland, and Washington and the harmful amendment banning marriage for same-sex couples will not be added to Minnesota state constitution
What was creative or different about this campaign?
Each of these campaigns (Mainers United for Marriage, Marylanders for Marriage Equality, Minnesotans United for all Families, and Washington United for Marriage) knew that they had their work cut out for them, so they started early. Messaging on previous marriage campaigns had failed to move undecided voters and combat anti-gay attacks from the opposition, so the campaigns knew that they had to develop new messaging in order to win. They conducted years of intensive research, held countless focus groups, and rigorously tested every aspect of TV ads and mailers to ensure that each message that the campaign sent out effectively resonated with undecided voters, and emphasized that loving and committed same-sex couples want to marry for similar reasons that all couples want to marry. And it worked. Voters responded to the newfound emphasis on love and commitment and attacks from the opposition -- the very same attacks that led to defeats in California in 2008 and Maine in 2009 -- didn't do as much damage as they had in the past. The campaigns learned from the past and created the new, innovative ways of reaching voters that were absolutely vital to winning at the ballot.
How did the campaign motivate the nominator to participate?
Each campaign built diverse, broad-based coalitions that were integral parts of the overall campaign structure. Overall, the campaigns received over 2,000 endorsements from local faith, business, and civic organizations. Coalition building enabled the campaigns to reach a wide array of supporters and voters who were crucial to success on Election Day, particularly among people of color, communities of faith, and labor. Because of this, they successfully made the case that the freedom to marry isn't just something that impacts same-sex couples and their families. Instead, marriage for same-sex couples is a matter of extending critical protections and respect to all loving and committed couples in the state. More broadly, each campaign had a highly engaged base of grassroots volunteers who were committed to the campaigns because they knew that they a hand in making history not only in their respective states, but for LGBT people across the country.
Additional Comments
Because of the work of Mainers United for Marriage, Marylanders for Marriage Equality, Minnesotans United for all Families, and Washington United for Marriage, the landscape of the movement to win the freedom to marry nationwide will be forever changed. They secured the first-ever marriage wins at the ballot, but they certainly won't be the last. It's not every day that as organizers, we get to literally change the course of history. But that's exactly what these four campaigns accomplished on November 6th.
Submitted By Sean Carlson
- Relationship to Nominee: Supporter
