How to Win Your Ballot in 5 Days
This step-by-step guide outlines the strategy that delivered an 80% turnout within five days in a school of 120 members, with minimal legwork.
Pre-ballot groundwork
Build urgency and ensure members know why the vote matters before the link hits their inbox.
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Step 1: All-member meeting & set up the stakes
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Hold a workplace meeting at least one week before the ballot opens. Focus on local stakes—link the national ballot to issues your members see every day (e.g., workload, redundancies, or budget cuts). Ask for volunteers to help the reps chase the votes.
Follow up with an email to all members.
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Sample follow up email:
Title: [School Name] Meeting - Defending our jobs and workload
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Dear members,
If we don't return a massive YES to strike action in the indicative ballot starting on February 28th, then this is what to expect next:
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Workload will continue to increase
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Staff cuts
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Fewer subject options
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Reduced support for students.
Why?
Because the government is trying to create possibilities for dismantling our working conditions as it fails to address the funding crisis.
How?
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By trying to loosen the rules around our “directed time” (the 1265 hours teachers are required to work per year.)
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By continuing to force unfunded, under-inflation pay rises, that will again directly impact our school budgets and make redundancies more commonplace.
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By threatening to remove the 3-year pay protection for TLRs.
Step 2: Ready to vote
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Send a short, punchy email 24 hours before the ballot opens so members are looking for the link.
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Clearly state that the vote will come via text and email.
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Include a summary of the specific questions they will see on the ballot (if available).
Example:
Good morning,
Get ready to vote YES on Saturday! (reasons outlined in previous email).
You will receive an email AND a text message with a unique link to cast your vote.
The questions will be as follows, depending on your role:
The blitz
Day 2: Initiate momentum & activate volunteers
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As soon as the ballot is live, engage ballot volunteers – check in the Reps dashboard (https://neuactivate.com/dashboard) for a “Yes” to their name in the relevant column.
Ask them to start engaging with their immediate department colleagues and fellow members about the ballot.
Send an email to all members early on Monday morning to start building the momentum:
Example:
Good morning,
[xx]% of the members at [School name] voted this weekend. ​But we haven't yet met the legal threshold.
Your vote will take us there.
Vote today!
Take care,
[Reps names]
Day 3: Keep engaging the ballot volunteers
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Use your dashboard to filter for the members who still haven't voted. Send this updated list to all ballot volunteers. Praise their work so far.
Example:
Good morning,
Here is the updated list of colleagues whose vote we are chasing.
Bob has already started contacting members with tremendous impact!
3 days into the ballot, turnout is above 50%, with about 50 votes left to chase.
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Tomorrow morning, I will be sending an updated list of colleagues whose vote remains to be cast.
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Together, let's reach 80% turnout by Friday!
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Kind regards,
[Rep name]
Send a BCC email specifically to all non-voters.
Example:
Title: 30 seconds to save our 1,265-hour directed time.
Dear [School name] members,
Take 30 seconds to find the link in your emails/txt from Saturday and vote now.
We need a massive YES to show we won't accept staff cuts, pay erosion, or the dismantling of our 1,265-hour directed-time.
Every vote counts.
The text message and the email look like this:
Take care,
[Reps names]
Day 4: The personal "favour"
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A single Rep must send an individual email to each remaining non-voter.​
Example:
Title: Favour
Hi [Name],
if you need help finding the link, let me know. Otherwise, would you mind voting today so I can chase those who are having technical issues.
Kind regards,
[Rep name].
Day 5: Praise & update volunteers
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Keep your volunteer team motivated - you are also building your group for the long term!
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Provide updated lists of "remaining" names for them to chase.
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Share the current turnout percentage
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Publicly praise in your WhatsApp group volunteers who have moved the needle in their departments.
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Technical support & final push
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If a member says "I can't find my ballot," have the solution ready immediately.
Provide the Magic Link (https://neuactivate.com/login/magic_link) and the screenshots again.
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Once you reach 70-75%, the remaining non-voters are often the hardest to reach. Ask members who have voted to help with a specific friend or colleague.
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Now you can start the legwork to hit 90%!