What to Do After an Election: Action Plan for Campaigners & Activists

✅ Post-Election Mobilization Checklist

Turn results into action

The votes are in, the headlines are out, but your movement is just getting started. Whether celebrating a win, preparing to push back, or organizing for what’s next, here’s your go-to checklist for mobilizing after the election.

📣 1. Frame the Outcome

✔️ Publish a public statement or blog post responding to the results
✔️ Send a supporter email reflecting on the outcome and what's next
✔️ Align your messaging across social, web, and campaign pages
✔️ Stay hopeful, strategic, and clear regardless of the outcome

👥 2. Rally Your Supporters

✔️ Thank them for showing up, voting, signing, calling, donating
✔️ Invite them to your upcoming action or event
✔️ Share stories or data from your election campaign (e.g., “We sent 30,000 messages to MPs!”)
✔️ Keep engagement high with a follow-up action within a week

Learn more strategies for supporter engagement. 

🛠️ 3. Launch Your First Post-Election Action Quickly

We recommend that campaigners get their issue on the agenda early, before lobbyists and other regressive forces exert influence.  Make an impression by getting the voices of your supporters in front of newly elected representatives and their staffers. 

Ensure your advocacy tools are ready: Smart petitions, Letter to the Editor,  click-to-call, email-to-target.

✔️ Choose your tool(s):
• [ ] Email-to-Target
• [ ] Click-to-Call
• [ ] Smart  Petition or Pledge
• [ ] Letter to the Editor

✔️ Set up targeting to reach new MPs 

✔️ Update campaign messaging

 ✔️ Launch the campaign within 48 hours to 1 week of the results if possible.

🔗 Use New/Mode tools to move fast →

🧠 4. Analyze & Adjust

✔️ Review election results for key wins/losses by issue or geography
✔️ Adjust your campaign calendar for the new political landscape
✔️ Schedule a team debrief and strategy refresh within 7 days

🤝 5. Reconnect with Your Coalition

✔️ Debrief with partners and allied orgs
✔️ Identify shared post-election priorities
✔️ Co-launch a campaign or collective statement
✔️ Coordinate lobbying or media outreach efforts

📊 6. Track & Report

✔️ Monitor supporter activity and conversions on post-election actions
✔️ Segment new signups from election efforts for targeted follow-up
✔️ Share early wins and impact metrics with your community
✔️ Build your base for long-term organizing. Remember long-term multi-tactic campaigns usually have the most impact. 

🧠 7. Reflection & Readiness

Schedule a post-election team debrief:

✔️ Review what worked, what didn’t, and how your supporters engaged
✔️ Update internal playbooks for the next big political moment
✔️ Keep building because advocacy is not a one-time campaign

✔️ Review advocacy best practices to stay sharp and current. 

Here are some free resources: 

1. The 10 Most Effective Ways to Influence Legislators With Grassroots Advocacy
2. Using online/offline events to embrace a ‘cycle of power building’
3. Click to Call do’s and don’t’s
4. Embrace ‘Smart Petitions’.
5. Driving personalized advocacy at scale.
6. How to use digital engagement to build power (online video) 

🏁 Final Tip: Keep Organizing

Election day was a milestone, not the finish line. Keep your supporters activated, your targets accountable, and your tools ready.

Prepare to launch your first post-election action within 48  hours to 1 week.

Use New/Mode to:

• Deploy multi-tactic pressure 
• Mobilize supporters with geo-targeted actions
• Publish support letters in the local paper

Is your organization thinking about using New/Mode?👉 Book a Free Strategy Session. We’ll walk you through tools, tactics, and timing so your campaign is ready before the headlines hit.