Avaaz: How tactical voting campaign helped strip May of majority
*Campaign to stop landslide win contributed to election shock*
A tactical voting push by campaigning movement Avaaz aimed at stopping a hard Brexit landslide for Theresa May has contributed to the government losing its majority. Group reached over 700,000 people in key swing seats, including 25% of all women, with facebook ads with tactical voting messages.
Bert Wander, Avaaz campaign director said: “The tactical voting push unleashed in this election was people-power at its finest, and helped turn the pundits’ predictions upside down. A new force is awakening in our politics, based on values not party allegiances, and its hope could transform our democracy.”
Avaaz, which has 1.7 million members in Britain, launched a nationwide push during the election to help the public understand how to vote tactically and to drive turnout amongst young people. The campaign included:
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Building a tactical voting tool to help people find out how to vote locally, which was used 100,000 times before polls closed.
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Focusing specifically on 50 key seats the Tories had to win. Of those a remarkable 45 went the way of the tactical recommendation, many with increased majorities and some by just a few hundred votes.
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An Avaaz facebook advertising campaign in the target seats that saw 1.9 million ads displayed on timelines, targeting young people and women voters.
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Almost 50,000 text messages were sent, along with over 3 million emails to people across the country.
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Avaaz volunteers joined local party campaigns and made hundreds of phone calls on election day.
When the campaign launched, the Conservatives were expecting a three figure landslide majority. But Avaaz, which has pushed for parliamentary scrutiny of the Brexit negotiations and campaigned against hard Brexit, was one of several groups that launched tactical voting campaigns in the weeks leading up to the poll.
For more information and interview requests please contact Bert Wander, on +44 7968 017731 / bert@avaaz.org
Notes to Editors: Full list of the 50 Tory target seats Avaaz focused on is available on request.