ASO Communications

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ASO Communications' byline is "Engage The Base, Persuade The Middle".

Anat Shenker-Osorio is the "Principal and founder" of ASO Communications.

People's Opinions are 'Unacceptable'

ASO Communications' strategy is to nudge people:

"Conventional wisdom says to meet people where they are. But, on most issues, where they are is unacceptable. Applying tools from cognition and linguistics, we uncover where people are capable of going and how to use our words, images and stories to move them.

Getting People to Accept the 2020 Election Results

In a paper titled "Nonpartisan Talking Points for the Post-Election Period", authors Jegath Athilingam, Eli Pariser and Anat Shenker-Osorio of ASO Communications offers "talking points" for anticipated complaints about the 2020 election, including: "As we expected, it is taking longer to count our votes and verify a winner in this year’s election" and "Regardless of who you voted for, it’s time we come together and to tackle the very real issues our country faces – like COVID, healthcare and making sure we can all make ends meet.:

Best Practices 1. Lead with values. Talk about democracy, fairness, unity, the future. 2. Center the will of the voters. Make this about what Americans have chosen. 3. Discuss politicians not the candidates. Note that this is bigger than Trump or Biden. 4. Build confidence in the process. Reinforce security, highlight local election officials. 5. Speak to barriers voters were forced to face. Do so without saying ‘voter suppression.’ 6. Describe what voters are for. Focus on moving forward and dealing with COVID. 7. Set a confident tone. Uplift that the overwhelming will of the people will prevail.

What to Say During the Ballot Counting Period  For democracy to work for all of us, every voter must have our voice heard and our vote counted.  Even in the midst of a pandemic that has left more than 200,000 of our loved ones dead and created the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression and deliberate barriers from day-long lines to attempts to eliminate drop off locations, voters have done our job and turned out in record numbers. And now our election officials are doing theirs, as they have in every previous election.  The United States has always held elections and upheld a peaceful transfer of power, even in times of great crisis. We held successful presidential elections amid the Civil War, the Great Depression, and both World Wars. Now it's our turn to prove that nothing will stand in the way of counting every vote and delivering our democracy.  By uniting across our differences, we can uphold our democracy by ensuring every vote is counted and demanding that the person who we have chosen is sworn in as our president.

What to Say if the Election is Contested  The basis of American democracy is that we pick our leaders – our leaders do not pick their voters.  Election officials have been preparing for our elections for years, counted every vote, verified the results, and followed every law used in every election. Independent election experts have validated these results.  Over the course of a campaign, candidates have their say and then it is time for the voters to have ours and for the will of the people to determine the outcome. Any politician can say whatever they want, but it’s the will of the voters that decides.  Now, we must uphold the democratic transfer of power as we have since our founding. We have made our voices heard, and now we must swear in the government the people have chosen.  Regardless of who you voted for, it’s time we come together and to tackle the very real issues our country faces – like COVID, healthcare and making sure we can all make ends meet.

What to Say When We Know the Winner  For four years, people across our country have demonstrated our commitment to standing with and for each other. In 2020, a year that has tested us like no other, we’re pulling through the pandemic by pulling together.  Through it all, we’ve rejected every attempt to divide us based on what we look like, where we come from, or where we live. And this election is no exception. We the people are proving nothing will stop us from making our voices heard and our votes counted.  Even in the midst of a pandemic that has left more than 200,000 of our loved ones dead and created the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, we have turned out in record numbers to vote. We are making our voices heard to pick new leaders who will care and govern for all of us.  Now we will hold our new government to account – to not merely tackle the crises the last government created – but to make this a place where all of us can thrive.  Most of us believe that for democracy to work for all of us, it must include us all. But a powerful few have made voting deliberately difficult for people based on what we look like or where we live so they can continue to govern only for the wealthiest few. We must make every effort to ensure every voter can have their say and count every vote cast.

What to Say to Claims of Fraud  As we expected, it is taking longer to count our votes and verify a winner in this year’s election.  Our elections include 51 separate counts across the states and Washington, D.C. Each is administered by qualified officials who take their job of counting eligible votes seriously.  By tracking from start to finish and verifying the identity of each ballot, certified election officials ensure that each voter casts one ballot and that every eligible vote is counted accurately

Acknowledgements

"Enormous gratitude to Jillian Marcellus for their help drafting these conclusions and Anthony Torres for improving upon them. And to Michael Podhorzer, Kate Catherall, Wasay Rasool, Seiji Carpenter, David Kordus, Ben Winston, Kevin Ingham, Anna Greenberg, Tyler Lewis, and the dozens of other researchers, advocates and organizers who helped conduct these studies and inform these conclusions."

Team

From the ASO Communications website:

• Anat Shenker-Osorio, Principal & Founder
• Jay Marcellus, Director Of Narrative
• Michael McGovern, Director Of Campaigns
• Liz Brown, Manager Of Operations
• Genevieve Arnold, Narrative And Research Associate
• Anthony Vidal Torres, formerly Director Of Collaboration is now at Get Free