VoteShift
Prepared for
Black Economic Alliance
2026 Phase 1 · Voter Contact Texting

$100K.
1M+ messages.
4 states.

Non-partisan economic education to Black voters in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, and Virginia — built on two cycles of program data and ready to flex into Phase 2 GOTV without rebuild.
Phase
1 of 2 · May–Aug 2026
Budget
$100,000
Submitted
May 7, 2026
From
Daniel Deriso · VoteShift
VoteShift × BEA · 2026 Phase 1
02 / 14 · Executive Summary

Two cycles. The math works.

Summary
3.2M
Sends · 2024
Across five states, three waves, $300K budget
38.2%
Engagement · 2024
Industry benchmark: 21–36%
47%
Early-vote turnout
In the 30–70 score "missing middle" universe
+16
Pro-Harris swing
Among respondents, Oct 9 → Nov 4
The thesis

Black voters with VAN turnout scores between 30 and 70 — the missing middle — respond at scale to BEA's economic frame.

The window

60% of Black voters have not been asked to participate in resistance this year. Phase 1 is the ask, at $0.08 per voter.

The path

Phase 1 educates, builds trust, and qualifies the list. Phase 2 inherits the universe, the data, and zero ramp-up.

VoteShift × BEA · Track Record
03 / 14 · Cycle Comparison

2022 → 2024 → 2026

Same thesis. Compounding scale.
2022 · Proof
$80K
  • States5
  • Textable cells1.2M
  • Sends1.0M+
  • Response rate45%
  • Target turnout29%
  • Cost / voter$0.08
2024 · Scaled
$300K
  • States5
  • Textable cells985K
  • Sends3.2M
  • Engagement38.2%
  • Early-vote turnout47%
  • Cost / voter$0.08
2026 · Phase 1
$100K
  • States4
  • Phase 1 universe820K–910K
  • Projected sends1.0–1.2M
  • Projected engagement~38%
  • List-build target40K–60K opt-ins
  • Cost / voter$0.08

The $0.08 blended cost-per-voter benchmark established in 2022 has held across 1.0M and 3.2M send volumes — including the heavier MMS share added for the 2024 housing and entrepreneurship visuals. Phase 1 is priced to that same line.

Sources: BEA 2022 Wrap-Up Memo (Ice Miller & Deriso Digital, Dec 2022); VoteShift internal universe build documentation, Oct 2024.
VoteShift × BEA · Track Record
04 / 14 · 2022 Cycle

2022 · Proof of concept

$80K · 5 states · 1.0M+ sends
The strategic claim

Black voters with VAN turnout scores between 30 and 70 would respond at scale to BEA's economic frame. Three waves — early Oct, late Oct, Nov 8 GOTV — tested it.

1.6M
BEA Universe
Black voters, 5 states
1.2M
Textable Cells
After data hygiene
45%
Response Rate
Two-way conversations
293K
Voted in target
29% turnout in 30–70 band

Takeaway. Meetings with the DGA, DSCC, DCCC, and DNC that cycle confirmed no other committee was targeting Black infrequent voters in swing states. That is still true.

2022 universe by state
StateBEA UniverseTextable CellsReference Margin
Georgia640,000530,000Warnock +99,389
North Carolina485,000341,000Beasley −121,737
Michigan218,000161,000Whitmer +469,674
Pennsylvania187,000124,000Fetterman +263,505
Wisconsin103,00045,000Barnes −26,255
Total1,633,0001,201,000
Source: BEA 2022 Wrap-Up Memo (Ice Miller & Deriso Digital, December 2022).
VoteShift × BEA · Track Record
05 / 14 · 2024 Cycle · Universe

2024 · Scaled execution

$300K · 985K cells delivered against a 1.0M target
Universe build · 2024
StateRound 1 TargetActual CellsFirst Send
Georgia370,000354,006312,019
North Carolina250,000252,112In-flight
Pennsylvania193,000175,146150,588
Michigan147,000153,418121,950
Nevada40,00050,02934,657
Total1,000,000984,711
PA expanded the ceiling to age 70 to capture late-engagement Black men; NV held to the standard 25–65 range. Source: VoteShift internal universe build documentation, October 2024.
7-step universe construction

Built inside VAN/TargetSmart and Catalist. Same methodology in 2026, refreshed for the current voter file.

01
Vote floor — 2 of last 7 elections
02
Vote ceiling — remove 4-of-7 super-voters
03
Harris support score 50–90
04
Catalist VoteProp 40–75
05
Catalist Economic Sensitivity 70–100
06
Strip deceased / DNC / hostile / restricted
07
Narrow to Black voters 25–65, cell-only, very-high / high quality scores
VoteShift × BEA · Track Record
06 / 14 · 2024 Results

The numbers, 2024

3.2M sends · 38.2% engagement · 47% early-vote
3.2M
Sends · 3 waves
Oct 9, Oct 25, Nov 4
38.2%
Engagement
Benchmark: 21–36%
~708K
Two-way Conversations
Modeled at 45% across full universe
57%
Cumulative Turnout
47% early-vote + ~10% E-Day, target universe
Who responded

The cohort the program was built to surface and persuade.

Black men 18–40 (pro-Trump)
84%
Black men 18–40 (undecided)
40%
Black women 40+ (pro-Harris)
63%
Black men 40+ (pro-Harris)
29%
What worked

Pocketbook frames out-engaged civil rights and health framings — especially with disengaged male voters.

Top performer

Housing affordability

Survived A/B/C/D, went wide on C3.

Top performer

Entrepreneurship

Survived A/B/C/D, went wide on C3.

Underperformed

Wealth-building

Cut from wide send.

Underperformed

GOP head-to-head contrast

Cut from wide send.

VoteShift × BEA · Track Record
07 / 14 · Sentiment Movement

+16 Harris. −12 Trump.

Among respondents · Oct 9 → Nov 4 · 2024
Pro-Harris sentiment
Oct 9
70%
Nov 4
86%
+16
Point swing
Pro-Trump sentiment
Oct 9
13.7%
Nov 4
1.8%
−12
Point drop
Final-week undecideds
5%

Heavily Black men under 40.

Pro-Harris anchors
63%

Black women 40+ — the anchor of Democratic turnout.

Cross-age pull
29%

Black men 40+ contribution to pro-Harris sentiment.

VoteShift × BEA · 2026 Phase 1
08 / 14 · Pivot
Part one · 2022 & 2024

What we’ve done.

Two cycles, five states, ~$380K deployed. 3.2M sends in 2024, 38% engagement, +16-point Harris swing. A program that holds up under audit.

Part two · 2026 Phase 1

What we’re proposing.

$100K, four months, four states. 1M+ messages built on the proven infrastructure — ready to flex into Phase 2 GOTV without rebuild.

VoteShift × BEA · 2026 Case
09 / 14 · Why Now

The electorate is ready. They haven't been asked.

HIT Strategies · Black Opps research
01 · Personal impact
59%

Of Black voters say Trump's policies have hurt them personally, up from 47% in April 2025 — a 12-point swing in six months.

But 41% of Spectators see personal impact vs. 82% of Defenders. Connecting policy to household experience is the work.

02 · Nobody's asked
60%

Of Black voters say no one has asked them to participate in any resistance activity in the past year.

Texting is asking. At $0.08 per voter, the cheapest concrete ask we can put in front of an Activatable.

03 · Issue territory
73%

“Very concerned” about Medicaid cuts — the highest-concern message overall, with DEI (71%), tariffs (69%), housing (69%), inflation (69%) close behind.

Phase 1 sits exactly on top of the issue territory the research validates.

HIT Activation Index · Where Black voters sit
DEFENDERS · 30%
ACTIVATABLE · 34%
SPECTATORS · 24%
OTHER · 12%

Activatables move best on Medicaid. Defenders on DEI. Spectators on Medicaid and DEI together. The 2024 program already proved the issue spines — housing, entrepreneurship, generational wealth — would scale.

VoteShift × BEA · 2026 Phase 1
10 / 14 · Program Design

4 states. 820K–910K cells.

May 25 → Aug 31, 2026 · Non-partisan economic education
Phase 1 universe projection
State2024 Universe2026 Phase 1Notes
Georgia354,006340–370KOpen gov race; protect Ossoff
Michigan153,418150–165KAug 4 primary inflection
North Carolina252,112245–265KDon Davis protect; Senate expand
Virginia— New —85–110KVA-02 expansion · Jun 9 primary
Phase 1 Total820–910K
Three Phase 1 objectives · BEA plan
01

Educate

Connect federal policy — Medicaid, tariffs, housing — to household experience using the issue spines that already scaled in 2024.

02

Build trust

Establish BEA as the credible economic messenger via two-way conversations managed in real time by trained responders.

03

Build the list

Qualify 40K–60K explicit opt-ins across four states for Phase 2 partisan GOTV — same vendor, same staff, no ramp.

Compliance: All sends C3/C4 compliant, 10DLC-registered, Switchboard platform (active billing on BEA Account A51DBF50 since April 2025). Suppression includes 2022/2024 opt-outs, deceased, TCPA-restricted.

VoteShift × BEA · 2026 Phase 1
11 / 14 · Wave Plan

4 waves. 4 months. 72-hour test-to-wide.

A/B test ~6,500/arm → analyze → wide send within 72 hrs
01
Late May

Introduction

Who BEA is and why economic policy is hitting Black households. Open the relationship; signal the credible messenger posture.

Ask · Reply for state-specific economic explainer
02
June

Pain-point education

Medicaid cuts, tariffs, federal job losses, housing affordability — the HIT-validated, 2024-proven issue spines.

Ask · Click-through to short video; voter registration check
03
July

Progress & power

Collective action that produced results — Target boycott, George Floyd-era reforms. The “things change when we move” frame.

Ask · Survey response on top economic concern
04
August

List build & bridge

Reinforce trust; preview Phase 2 mobilization; layer in Michigan Aug 4 primary information for engaged segment.

Ask · Opt-in to BEA voter list
1.0–1.2M
Outbound Sends · Phase 1
Across 4 waves, depending on MMS share
380–460K
Two-way Conversations
Applying 2024's 38.2% engagement rate
40–60K
Phase-2 Opt-ins
Tagged, qualified, ready for September
VoteShift × BEA · 2026 Phase 1
12 / 14 · Budget

$100,000 · How it deploys

$0.08 per voter · benchmark held since 2022
Platform & sending feesSwitchboard sends · SMS/MMS mix · 10DLC · carrier fees
48%
$48,000
Live conversation managementTrained responders · two-way replies · voter info, registration, opt-in
18%
$18,000
Content development4 waves × 4 states · A/B/C/D testing · HIT-aligned refinement
10%
$10,000
Program managementDaniel as program lead · weekly check-ins · 4‑month coordination
10%
$10,000
Universe build & data hygieneVAN/TargetSmart · Catalist · phone append · NCOA · 7-step build
8%
$8,000
Reporting & analyticsWave-over-wave dashboards · sentiment · Phase 2 segmentation deliverable
6%
$6,000
What $100K buys
Outbound sends
1.0–1.2M

Across 4 waves, 4 states.

Conversations
380–460K

Two-way, live-managed.

Phase-2 opt-ins
40–60K

Qualified, tagged, ready.

Cost / voter
$0.08

Same as 2022 and 2024.

Flex room

An incremental $25K–$50K in July deepens GA/MI ahead of the open GA gov primary and MI Aug 4 primary, and adds a 5th wave bridging into Phase 2.

Total Phase 1
100%
$100,000
VoteShift × BEA · 2026 Phase 2
13 / 14 · Scaling Scenarios

Phase 1 ends August. Phase 2 starts September.

Same vendor · same staff · same list · zero ramp

When BEA shifts to its partisan GOTV posture under the C4, the Phase 1 universe, the message-test history, and the live response infrastructure carry forward without rebuild. Three scenarios sized to donor outcome:

Scenario A · Maintain
$150K
Approx. 1.5–1.8M sends

Same 4 Phase 1 states. Phase 1 opt-ins prioritized. 2 GOTV waves.

Scenario C · Match 2024
$300K
Approx. 3.0–3.5M sends

Full 2024 footprint at 2024 send volume. 3 GOTV waves. The configuration that delivered 47% early-vote turnout last cycle.

Phase 1 is the qualifier. Phase 2 sizing is a donor conversation BEA leads — we'll have refreshed lift data by mid-July to inform it.

VoteShift × BEA · 2026 Phase 1
14 / 14 · Timeline & Ask

Approve. Build. Send.

First send live within 14 days of contract execution
Phase 1 timeline
Wk of May 18
Contract execution; universe pull begins; 10DLC re-registration confirmed.
Wk of May 25
Universes finalized per state; Wave 1 scripts approved; A/B test launched.
Late May
Wave 1 winner selected; wide send begins.
June
Wave 2 · Pain points. Mid-month performance check-in with BEA.
July
Wave 3 · Progress & power. Phase 2 scoping conversation with BEA.
August
Wave 4 · List build & bridge. MI primary information layer; Phase 1 close-out report.
Early Sept
Phase 2 kickoff if green-lit. Same vendor, same list, immediate ramp.
The ask
Approve
Phase 1 Texting Program
$100K
Commit
Phase 2 scoping conversation — July
→ $150–300K
Why VoteShift runs this

Daniel led the 2022 program and ran the 2024 program through VoteShift under the same scope we propose for 2026: universe build, scripts with BEA leadership, send execution, live response, C3/C4 compliance, wrap-up reporting.

BEA does not pay for ramp-up because there is none.

Daniel Deriso · President & Founder, VoteShift · daniel@voteshift.com · 205-223-2357 · voteshift.com