Understanding Voter File Download Types in RunningMate
RunningMate Pro & Pro+ have 3 types of downloads:
- Registered Data: Selecting this option will create a download that has detailed data about the voting behavior of the registered voters on the list you've filtered for - this includes their primary and general election voting history as well as the districts the person is in. It will also include name and address, date of birth, partisanship and turnout modeling scores, race and gender, and column to record notes.
- Outreach - Registered Data: Selecting this option will create a download that includes any contact information included in the dataset, along with Civitech columns intended for bulk-adding tags and survey responses. It will not contain the granular voting behavior data the Registered Data download includes.
- Unregistered Data (RunningMate Pro+ only): This download type will export a list of the unregistered people included in the list you've filtered for. The format will be similar to the Outreach - Registered Data, in that it will include any contact information we have but will not include voting history.
Below we explain and illustrate in depth the data contained in the three data file options you can export from RunningMate Pro and Pro Plus.
Download Registered Data export type
The Registered Data export provides detailed information about registered voters, their voting behavior, and the districts they are in. Below are examples and high level illustrations:
Contact Information
These fields contain contact information of registered voters:
- id: Unique voter ID number.
- addr_residential_line1 / line2 / line3: Residential address.
- addr_residential_city / state / zip_code: City, state, and ZIP code.
- county_name: County of residence.
- phone_1 / phone_2: Phone numbers.
Current Voter Registration Status, Survey Responses & Tags
- current_voter_registration_intent: Their current voter registration intent.
- current_support_score: Existing support score - how supportive they are of your candidate or cause (e.g., 1–5 or support/oppose).
- 1 is for strong support and 5 for strong opposition.
- current_tags: Tags already in the RunningMate system (e.g., “need yard sign,” “needs spanish speaker”).
- demo_party: Political party affiliation (if available).
- registration_status_civitech: Current registration status (active, inactive, etc.)
Voting Participation History.
These fields contain voter participation in past elections.
- participation_primary_2016–2024: Indicates if the voter participated in primary elections from Year 20XY to 20XY.
- participation_general_2016–2024: Indicates if the voter participated in general elections from 20XY to 20XY.
- vote_primary_dem / rep_2016–2024: Participation in Democratic or Republican primaries from 20XY to 20XY.
- vote_other_20XY to 20XY: Participation in other elections (non-primary/general)
- notes: You can record notes in this column. If recorded notes prior to download, they will appear here.
Geographic and Political Districts
These fields are helpful for organizing outreach based on geography:
- congressional_name: Congressional district name.
- state_house_name / state_senate_name: State legislative district names.
- precinct_name: Voting precinct.
- municipal_name / place_name: Local municipality or city information.
- city_council_name: City council district name.
- voter_type: You'll see various types already modeled for you:
- PERSUASION voters are those who are likely to vote, but may need to be convinced to vote for your candidate/cause. They're often considered "swing" voters.
- BASE voters are your strong supporters who are likely to vote for you.
- TURNOUT Voters are those who are likely to support you but might not consistently vote.
Download for Outreach - Registered Data export type
This option builds on the “Registered Data” file by including additional fields specifically useful for recording outreach efforts. This where you can add notes, new tags, survey responses and support scores per contact in via the excel sheet, however, a Data Manager will have to upload the excel sheet into RunningMate.
Basic Voter Information
- id: Unique voter ID number.
- name_first, name_middle, name_last: Voter’s first, middle, and last name.
- age: Voter’s age.
- gender: Gender information.
Current and New Voter Registration Intent & Support Scores
- current_voter_registration_intent: Their current voter registration intent.
- new_voter_registration_intent: This is where you record their response in regard to registration.
- Valid entries are:
- Y: Yes
- N: No
- U: Undecided
- Valid entries are:
- current_support_score: This is where current support scores entered or recorded prior to the downloaded appear - how supportive they are of your candidate or cause (e.g., 1–5 or support/oppose).
- 1 is for strong support and 5 for strong opposition.
- new_support_score: This is where you record based on outreach (e.g., 1–5 or support/oppose).
- Support Scores
- 1 → Strong Support
- 2 → Support
- 3 → Neutral/Undecided
- 4 → Oppose
- 5 → Strong Oppose
- Support Scores
Current and & New Tags
Tags can be viewed and added on 2 types of columns
- current_tags: Tags already in the RunningMate system
- new_tag_1, new_tag_2, new_tag_3, etc.: In these columns, you may add new tags.
- i.e “need yard sign,” “used elena spanish”, "lit drop".
- Note: Only a Owner, Admin or Data Manager can upload the file with the new tags in RunningMate.
- i.e “need yard sign,” “used elena spanish”, "lit drop".
Contact Information
- addr_residential_line1/line2/line3, city, state, zip_code: Voter’s residential address.
- county_name: County where voter lives.
- phone_1, phone_2: Voter phone numbers
Party & Registration Information
- party_registration: Voter’s registered political party.
- registration_status_civitech: Status of their registration (active, inactive, etc.).
Precinct and Voter Type
- precinct_name: Voter’s local precinct.
- voter_type: You'll see various types already modeled for you when download the file, below are definitions of what it means:
- PERSUASION voters are those who are likely to vote, but may need to be convinced to vote for your candidate/cause. They're often considered "swing" voters.
- BASE voters are your strong supporters who are likely to vote for you.
- TURNOUT Voters are those who are likely to support you but might not consistently vote.
- notes: You can record notes in this column. If recorded notes prior to download, they will appear here.
Download Unregistered Data export type
The Unregistered voter file includes information about people who have not registered to vote.
Personal Information
- id. This is a unique identifier for each record in the system. It allows you to track individual voters or contacts and ensures that every entry is distinct. Do not update
- name_first, name_middle, name_last: Voter’s full name.
- demo_age: Voter’s age.
- demo_gender: Gender of the voter.
- demo_race: Race or ethnicity (if provided).
Voter Status and Support Scores
- current_voter_registration_intent: Their current voter registration intent.
- new_voter_registration_intent: This is where you record their response in regard to registration.
- Valid entries are:
- Y: Yes
- N: No
- U: Undecided
- score_support_generic_dem: A general support score for Democratic candidates.
- current_support_score and new_support_score: This is where you measure voter stance:
- 1 → Strong Support
- 2 → Support
- 3 → Neutral/Undecided
- 4 → Oppose
- 5 → Strong Oppose
Current and & New Tags
Tags can be viewed and added on 2 types of columns
- current_tags: Tags already in the RunningMate system
- new_tag_1, new_tag_2, new_tag_3, etc.: In these columns, you may add new tags.
- i.e “early voter,” “used elena spanish”, "vr lit drop".
- Note: Only a Owner, Admin or Data Manager can upload the file with the new tags in RunningMate.
- i.e “early voter,” “used elena spanish”, "vr lit drop".
Important: Always double-check the current_tags to avoid duplicating or overwriting existing information.
Contact Information
- addr_address_primary: Primary address of the client. Used for mail outreach or to segment by geographic location.
- addr_city_primary: Primary city of the client’s address. Helps with geographic segmentation for outreach or targeted communications.
- addr_state_primary: Primary state of the client’s address. Helps in segmenting outreach efforts by region.
- addr_zip_primary: Primary zip code of the client’s address.
- phone_1: Primary phone number of the client. Used for direct communication and follow-up, especially for outreach via calls or SMS.
- email: Email address of the client. Critical for digital communication, including campaign outreach, newsletters, event invitations, and further outreach efforts.
- notes: You can record notes in this column. If recorded notes prior to download, they will appear here.