Electoral Services Program FAQ

What is NAR's REALTOR PARTY^® Electoral Services Program (ESP)?

The Electoral Services Program gives state and local REALTOR^® associations the data and tools they need to run successful communication and advocacy campaigns. The core of the program is a national voter database that makes it easy to target and motivate REALTORS^® and the general public to support candidates and issues important to the real estate industry. We also have consultants on staff that can help with your polling and direct mail needs.

How does the REALTOR PARTY^®Electoral Services Program work?

ESP provides voter and consumer information through easy to use data management tools along with access to data and political professionals to ensure that you are targeting the right audiences. To start, a username and password is provided to a primary contact at the Association level. The primary contact can discuss his or her data needs with the ESP staff and receive direction on how best to use ESP services. The primary contact can also access the data by themselves, run queries and order data if desired or request assistance from consultants instead.

What is so special about the REALTOR PARTY^® ESP data? Why is it any better than data I can get on my own?

ESP data is more comprehensive than standard voter file data, and is the most clean and accurate data available on the market. Best of all, the core data package is available at no charge.

ESP starts with a national REALTOR^® Voter File, assembled from individual state voter and state membership files, to more effectively communicate with REALTORS^® and turn them out to vote for targeted candidates and issue campaigns. The file also includes a list of REALTORS^® who are NOT registered to vote, so that you can encourage voter registration among your membership.
Next, ESP offers a national voter file of registered voters who are not REALTORS^® to identify and target the individuals needed to support REALTOR^® candidates and issue campaigns. The file includes more than 170 million registered voters.
ESP data has been cleaned and updated to make sure that we have the most recent data available on individual REALTORS^® and voters, including change of address information and phone matching. Each record also has a number of political and demographic variables, including vote history, party identification (where available), length of residence, age, education and consumer data that is not available on state voter files. This enhanced national voter database along with ESP's experienced and knowledgeable staff helps you target the right audience.

How much does it cost?

Each state association has been allocated a significant number of records free of charge based on the number of Congressional Districts per state. Check with David Watts (contact info below) to see how many records have been allocated to your state.

What is in the REALTOR PARTY^® data file?

Both Realtor and non-Realtor data is available in a Full Data Set that includes voter history, party registration (where applicable), demographic overlays (such as age, gender, income, homeownership and/or other demographic variables. The full data set is available through an easy to use count tool or by accessing NAR consultants. Phones and email addresses are not included in the base package.

What level of geographic voter information is contained in the REALTOR PARTY^® Electoral Services voter file database?

The Electoral Services Enhanced Voter Database is a national database containing more than 170 million registered voters. Each individual record contains county, U.S. House, and state upper/lower districts, as well as precinct information. Additionally, general and primary voting history, registration date, party affiliation, and many other relevant pieces of voter information are available. The database has a national data structure that carries the fields that are common across all states.

Are jurisdictions such as school districts and city council districts available?

We have made every attempt to carry through as many of the relevant fields as possible, but some of the more granular political districts are not available on the national file. For example, county commissioner, magisterial, school, water, and city council districts are not available on the standard file. However, based upon the level of activity and need, we are usually able to obtain this data if necessary.

Why were email addresses excluded from the base package?

When designing the Electoral Services Program, it was determined that most REALTOR^® outreach campaigns were direct mail based. In addition, emails are not on the vast majority of state voter files, and are extremely poor quality when available. Therefore, we decided not to add very expensive email data to the entire file. For those who want to utilize email in their campaigns, these data elements can be purchased from the ESP through commercial sources. Because email addresses change frequently, they are delivered as "just in time" data services, so that they are applied and verified very closely to when they are to be used. It is best to only buy email appends when you are ready to implement the contact program because they become outdated very quickly.

How often will the REALTOR PARTY^® data be updated?

The voter files will be cleaned and updated twice before the November general election. The schedule for updates is dependent on when individual states make their updated files available. ESP will make every effort to work with individual Associations to update the data at the most opportune time for its communication program.

Can I get the REALTOR PARTY^® data any time I need it?

Once NAR approves an initial application, a username and password can be provided to the primary contact person at the Association. The primary contact can then access the count tool, run queries and order the enhanced data. Once data is ordered, the primary contact will be contacted to confirm the order. This order will be fulfilled in 24 hours, exported to the primary contact or third party (a phone or direct mail vendor) as directed by the primary contact. The order is invoiced accordingly and usage reported to NAR. The Association can also access NAR consultants who can discuss the data and data needs, order the data and ship it to the Association or a designated vendor.

Who can I contact for more information?

The program is being staffed by David Watts, REALTOR PARTY^® Electoral Service Representative. He can be reached at dwatts@realtors.org or 202-383-1099.

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REALTOR® Party Action Center

Electoral Services Program FAQ