How it works
You send the voter file your campaign is authorized to use and the email you want to send. We remove duplicate addresses, misspelled ones, and addresses whose domain cannot receive mail, then tell you how many usable addresses are left and the fixed price. After you pay, we send you a test copy, and the email goes out only after you approve it.
The email comes from your campaign's own address, such as you@yourcampaign.com. We send you two settings to add to your website's domain, and whoever set up your campaign's website or email can add them. They let inboxes confirm the email really comes from you. If you would rather keep these sends separate from your everyday campaign email, we can send from an address like you@mail.yourcampaign.com instead.
- Send the file you already have, as CSV or Excel
- Free count of usable addresses before any charge
- You approve a test copy before anything goes out
- Sent from your campaign's own address
What every email includes
Every email carries your paid-for-by line, a mailing address for your campaign, and an unsubscribe link. Replies go straight to your campaign's inbox, and links go straight to your website.
Larger lists go out at a steady pace over a few days instead of all at once, because inboxes trust a steady sender more than a sudden burst. If the email is about an event or a deadline, tell us the date. Before you pay, we tell you whether the full list can go out in time.
- Paid-for-by line and mailing address
- Unsubscribe link in every email
- Replies go to your campaign's inbox
- Deadline checked before you pay
What you see after each send
After each send you get the number of emails delivered, the number that bounced or were turned away, how many people unsubscribed, and an approximate open rate, broken down by email provider such as Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook. Open rates are rough, because some email apps count opens on their own and others block them.
What to expect in the inbox
Delivery is not guaranteed. Voter file addresses are not a list people signed up for, so some emails will land in spam folders, and Gmail and Yahoo in particular may delay or turn away part of the mail, especially on a campaign's first send. Most other providers usually accept it. Before you pay, we count how much of your list is on Gmail and Yahoo so you know what to expect, and during the send we stop mailing any provider that starts turning the email away. Sending from your own domain, a cleaned list, a steady pace, and a short, local message all help more of it reach the inbox. No one can promise every email reaches the inbox, and we will not claim to.
Pricing
One send costs $899 and covers up to 50,000 emails. We clean the list before it goes out, and that is included in the price.
If you plan to email voters more than once, you can pay for five or more sends up front at $399 a send. Five sends are $1,995 and ten sends are $3,990. Each send covers up to 50,000 emails and includes cleaning the list again, and you have 3 months to use them all.
If one send needs to reach more than 50,000 addresses, we price it on request and send you a written quote before you pay. You can also send to part of the list by filtering by city, precinct, party, or voting history, and you can send different emails to different groups.
Rules for emailing voters from a voter file
Voter file data can only be used for the purposes your state allows. In California, for example, voter registration information is provided for election, scholarly, journalistic, political, or governmental purposes, and anyone who requests it may not send it outside the United States. Your emails go out only from sending servers in the United States, and we never sell or reuse your list.
Federal anti-spam rules mainly cover commercial email, but every email we send includes an unsubscribe link and a mailing address anyway. This is a summary, not legal advice. Check your state's rules for the voter file before your first send.
Sources: California Elections Code section 2194 · California Elections Code section 2188.5
What we need from you
Send the voter file, the email you want to send, your paid-for-by line, and your deadline. You must be authorized to use the file for election purposes under your state's rules. VoterFile does not sell voter files, so the list always starts with the one your campaign obtained.
- The voter file your campaign obtained from the county or state
- The email text, or what you want it to say
- The address it should come from, and whoever can add two settings to that domain
- Your paid-for-by line, mailing address, and deadline
Prefer to start by email?
Send the state, race, roughly how many voters are on the file, and your send date. We reply with the next step for a free count of usable addresses. Do not attach the voter file to this first email.
Example prices
Examples at round list sizes using the published prices. Cleaning the list before each send is included, and your free address count shows how many usable addresses your file has.
| What you send | Sends | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One email to 10,000 addresses | 1 | $899 |
| One email to 50,000 addresses | 1 | $899 |
| Five emails to 20,000 addresses, paid up front | 5 | $1,995 |
| Ten emails to 20,000 addresses, paid up front | 10 | $3,990 |
| One email to 80,000 addresses | 1 | Written quote |
From a campaign we added phone numbers for
“You are the epitome of Customer Service.”
Find out how many voters your email can reach.
Tell us the state, race, and send date. We confirm the file, count the usable addresses, and send a fixed price before anything is charged.
Questions
How much does it cost to email the voters on my voter file?
One send is $899 for up to 50,000 emails, and that includes cleaning the list first. Five or more sends paid up front cost $399 a send, for up to 50,000 emails each, and you have 3 months to use them. Five sends are $1,995 and ten sends are $3,990. A send to more than 50,000 addresses is priced on request, with a written quote before you pay. You see the free count of usable addresses before paying.
Will the emails come from my campaign's address?
Yes. We send you two settings to add to your domain, and whoever set up your website or email can add them. If you prefer, we can send from an address like you@mail.yourcampaign.com and keep it separate from your everyday campaign email.
Do I need my own email software?
No. We clean the list, send you a test copy, send the email, and report the results. You only need the voter file, the email text, and someone who can add two settings to your domain.
Will every email arrive?
No one can promise that, and we will not. Voter file addresses are not a list people signed up for, so Gmail and Yahoo may send part of the mail to spam or turn it away, especially on a campaign's first send. Before you pay we tell you how much of your list is on those providers, and after each send you see what each provider accepted.
How soon can the email go out?
The first emails usually go out within a few days of getting your file, the email text, and the two domain settings. A large list then takes a few more days to finish, because it goes out at a steady pace. Tell us your deadline when you first write, and we confirm before you pay whether the send can finish in time.
Can I send different emails to different neighborhoods?
Yes. We can split the list by city, precinct, or another field in your file and send each group its own email. Each different email counts as one send.
Does this work outside California?
In most states, yes. Your state's voter file needs to include email addresses, and your campaign must be authorized to use it for election purposes. We cannot take voter files from Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, or Virginia right now. The price is the same in every state we serve.
Does my campaign need the county's OK before you handle the file?
In California, many counties and the Secretary of State ask for written approval before anyone outside the campaign handles the voter file. We tell you if yours does, fill out the form for you to sign, and wait for the OK before we open the file, so allow extra time before your send date.
Who sees my voter file?
We do. The sending service gets only each voter's email address, first name, and last name, and uses them only to send your email. Its servers are in the United States. Party, birth date, voting history, and the rest of the file stay with us, and we never sell your list or use it for anyone else.