Importing data from other sources into RunningMate
Some users may want to add data lists to RunningMate which did not originate from the tool. These may include:
- Primary voters - who voted in which primary? These lists are often available months sooner when requested from the county itself, rather than from the state or party data.
- Lists of volunteers or donors
- Lists of precinct chairs
How to bulk import data into RunningMate:
- We’ll need to re-format the sheet you intend to import.
- In the sheet you want to import, change the state Voter ID column header to say id (lowercase)
- Add the other 8 Civitech columns:
- current_support_score
- new_support_score
- current_tags
- new_tag_1
- new_tag_2
- new_tag_3
- new_tag_4
- new_tag_5
- If you need an example of the column headers, create a small list and choose Download File for Contact.
- Add or move relevant data to the new support score or new tags columns.
- Designate strong supporters with a 1 in the new support column, strongly opposed with a 5.
- Note that the Support Scores you import affect your goals set in Goal Tracker
- Add relevant data tags that you may wish to use for filtering and cutting lists
- Designate strong supporters with a 1 in the new support column, strongly opposed with a 5.
- Download the sheet as a CSV
- Upload the CSV into RunningMate via the Data Management tab.
Note that the imported Support Scores are an important component for the district and precinct-level goals set in Goal Tracker.
More detailed instructions on how to do this is:
Step 1: Obtain your list. Whether it is from the Party, the county elections department, or a list of donors.
Step 2: Ensure the list includes each person’s state voter file ID.
Step 3: Be sure the column-headers in blue below are included in your sheet, with the same formatting (lower case, underscores instead of spaces)
The column-headers to include are:
- id
- current_support_score
- new_support_score
- current_tags
- new_tag_1
- new_tag_2
- new_tag_3
- new_tag_4
- new_tag_5
Rename the existing column-header for the state voter file ID with Civitech’s lowercase “id”.
Add the remaining 8 columns into the sheet.
Tags and Support Scores
If there is a column that exists in the data that you want to use as a tag in RunningMate, label that column header new_tag_1. (For example democratic_primary_2024, volunteer, recurring_donor, etc.)
If you want to mark this list as supporters and have it reflected in your Goal Tracker, use the support scores as listed in this doc: Importing your Custom Tags and Support Scores. 1 are Strong Supporters, 5 are Strongly Opposed.
Example:
- You ran a texting campaign and now have a list of people who’ve said they will vote for your candidate. After exporting that list from your instance of TextOut, or another texting platform, filter the responses to positive/supporters
- Follow the above steps, renaming the state voter ID column, and adding the Civitech columns
- Add 1s to the new support score columns for strong supporters. 5 for strongly opposed
- Add relevant data tags, following the formatting requirements (no spaces, lowercase, numbers or letters, using only underscores_, dash-, or colon:).
Click on Data Management and Import the list. View the updated populations via the filters on the homepage, or view your progress toward goal with Goal Tracker.