Submit your video for the Illinois gubernatorial primary election
Thank you for helping win the gubernatorial primary election in Illinois through our innovative new video program. Your video message can have a huge impact on this election. Here are some tips for making your video, followed by instructions on how to submit it.
Tips for making your video:
▷ Be yourself. Studies have shown that the most valuable thing in talking to voters is being genuine and authentic. It's more important to speak from the heart than to sound polished. In fact, your being a real person that fellow voters can relate to is a core part of the strength of your appeal and of this project. Introduce yourself and share something about yourself that people might relate to.
▷ Tell people why. The most important thing to tell people is *why* you care about this election. That's more important than listing lots of policies. You're talking to voters who aren't sure whom to vote for or whether to vote. They don't just want to hear facts about the candidates. They want to hear a reason they should care about this election.
▷ Keep it simple. Your video doesn't have to be long. Thirty seconds is fine. Or longer if you're inspired. You can record straight to your camera or cell phone (instructions below). Or, if you'd like, you can record at a location that's meaningful to you or involve others. But you don't have to make a fancy or complicated video to have an impact. It's better to make a quick, simple video and start connecting to voters than to make nothing at all.
How to record and submit your video:
1. If you have a mobile phone with a camera, the easiest thing to do is to record yourself that way and then upload the video to YouTube. If your computer has a camera, you can also record the video onto your computer and then upload the file to YouTube.
2. Instructions for how to upload your video to YouTube are here: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/57407?hl=en. Be sure to set your video to either "unlisted" or "public" when you upload.
3. If you have any trouble with recording or uploading your video, just use the help link here and we can work with you to make it work.
Want more help? Let us contact you to talk it through.
Just use the form here and we'll make it work together.
Also, take a look at our example video from a recent Virginia election and our sample scripts below.
Sample scripts:
Hi. I'm Alice. I am a mom of two wonderful kids—an 8-year-old and a 12-year-old—here in Evanston. They're not in college yet (and a part of me wants them to never grow up and leave!), but my husband and I are definitely thinking about it already. We want them to have the best opportunities they can have but a college education isn't cheap. Daniel Biss supports fixing the school funding formula and making college education more accessible. He also introduced the Student Loan Bill of Rights legislation that Bruce Rauner vetoed. As governor, he can fix that and that matters to me. That's why I'm voting this March. For my kids and for their education. I'm voting for Daniel Biss.
Hi. I'm Bob. I live in Springfield, and I'll just say it—our governor has been a disgrace. With attacks on unions, budget crises, and cuts to universities, public transit, child care, and schools. We don't need another rich businessman as governor. We've seen what that looks like. That's why I'm voting for Daniel Biss. He's different. He's not running to make himself and his cronies richer. He's running because he wants to make a difference. I've had enough of millionaires buying elections. I'm voting for Daniel Biss on March 20.
Hi. I'm Carol. I'm a student at Northeastern. This is the first election I can vote in. I know the politics in our country aren't always uplifting these days. I see it in this election too. But the thought of sitting this out is even worse. Elections matter. I think we all know that now. And I'm voting in this one. I'm voting for a stronger, more inclusive Illinois. That's the Illinois that Daniel Biss represents. Please join me and vote on March 20.
Ready to submit? Use the form below.