What would live phone banking cost across my whole slate?
A PAC or party committee that buys voter contact for several candidates at once pays the rate the whole bundle earns, not the rate each race would earn alone. HyperPhonebank prices per voter household on a published tier table that falls from $0.67 per household for a small list to $0.26 at volume, and a bundle is priced on its combined household count. Enter the number of candidates and the voters in each race and the calculator shows every candidate at the bundle rate and at the stand-alone rate, the total for the slate, and the in-kind contribution line each candidate reports to the FEC. Every candidate in the bundle gets a live dashboard and the committee gets the roll-up view.
By Frank Carrasco, PhD, founder of The Political Group, 20+ years and 1,900+ campaigns. Last updated .
PAC Bundle Calculator
Add 3,251 more households (about 4,712 voters, one more race or a deeper universe) and the whole bundle drops to $0.26 per household.
Per-candidate rate and in-kind line for your slate
| Candidate | Households | Alone | In bundle | Candidate program |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate 1 | 10,350 | $0.45 | $0.27 | $2,817 |
| Candidate 2 | 10,350 | $0.45 | $0.27 | $2,817 |
| Candidate 3 | 10,350 | $0.45 | $0.27 | $2,817 |
| Candidate 4 | 10,350 | $0.45 | $0.27 | $2,817 |
| Candidate 5 | 10,350 | $0.45 | $0.27 | $2,817 |
Show the in-kind contribution line for each candidate
- In-kind contribution to Candidate 1: live voter contact phone program, 10,350 voter households, three attempts each, valued at $2,817.27.
- In-kind contribution to Candidate 2: live voter contact phone program, 10,350 voter households, three attempts each, valued at $2,817.27.
- In-kind contribution to Candidate 3: live voter contact phone program, 10,350 voter households, three attempts each, valued at $2,817.27.
- In-kind contribution to Candidate 4: live voter contact phone program, 10,350 voter households, three attempts each, valued at $2,817.27.
- In-kind contribution to Candidate 5: live voter contact phone program, 10,350 voter households, three attempts each, valued at $2,817.27.
The value is what the committee pays for that candidate's program at the bundle rate. Whether it is reported as an in-kind contribution or an independent expenditure depends on coordination; confirm with counsel.
The formula
- Households per race = voters in the race x 0.69 (or enter households directly)
- Bundle households = sum of households across every candidate in the bundle
- Bundle rate = the HyperPhonebank rate tier for bundle households
- Each candidate pays = that candidate’s households x bundle rate
- Stand-alone cost = that candidate’s households x the rate tier for their households alone
- In-kind value reported for each candidate = what the committee paid for that candidate’s program
How to use it
- 1
List the races
Enter how many candidates the committee is supporting. Use the same voter count for every race for a quick read, or open the per-candidate table and enter each race by name and size.
- 2
Size each universe
Enter the voters the program should reach in each race, usually the persuasion universe or the GOTV universe from the campaign plan. Voters convert to households at 0.69, the share of a typical voter file that lives at a distinct address with a phone.
- 3
Read the bundle rate
The calculator sums the households, finds the tier the bundle earns, and prices every candidate at that rate. Compare it to the stand-alone column: the gap is what bundling is worth to the slate.
- 4
Copy the in-kind lines
Each candidate row ends with the in-kind contribution line the committee reports for that candidate. The value is what the committee paid for that candidate’s program, itemized per candidate so the paperwork is clean.
Questions campaigns ask
How does bundling change the price of phone banking for a PAC?+
HyperPhonebank rates are set by list size. A PAC that combines five 10,000-household races into one 50,000-household bundle is priced at the 50,000-household tier for every one of those races, which is a lower rate per household than any of the five would earn alone. The rate table is public and the calculator applies it exactly.
Is a phone bank paid for by a PAC an in-kind contribution?+
When a PAC pays a vendor for voter contact that is coordinated with a candidate, the payment is an in-kind contribution to that candidate and counts against the contribution limit, and both the PAC and the candidate committee report it. When a super PAC runs the program independently with no coordination, it is an independent expenditure reported on Schedule E instead. The calculator itemizes per candidate so either report is straightforward. Confirm treatment with the committee’s counsel.
What does each bundled candidate get?+
Every candidate in the bundle gets their own live dashboard: dials, conversations, voter identification results, issues raised and daily momentum, updated as calls happen. The committee gets the roll-up view across the slate, which shows which candidates are gaining, which are slipping, and where the next dollar should go.
Do the candidates have to be in the same state?+
No. A bundle can span states, offices and parties. Each race is called on its own script, with its own caller ID and its own candidate voicemail, and reported on its own dashboard. Only the price tier is shared.