Navigating the Google Drive
The Key Votes department uses Google Drive to store, organize, and track the vast majority of our work. The Key Votes folder will be shared with you by the end of your first day at Vote Smart. It is organized into several subfolders, many of which have subfolders of their own. Below are brief descriptions of the main folders.Advisers
This folder contains documents related to our correspondence with advisers. Interns will not need to use this folder, but staff members will need to access it at least once a week. The main folder contains the Weekly Letter Template. This is the template used by staff members for our Friday emails to advisers. It also contains two subfolders, Additional Communications and Special Projects.Additional Communications
This folder contains templates for communications sent to advisers outside of the weekly coverage email. These include the end-of-year wrap-up template, a prospective adviser letter, and a thank you letter.Special Projects
This folder contains documents relevant to any special, short term, or one time projects related advisers. This includes several spreadsheets from previous projects, as well as templates for backlog release communications. If you are ever assigned a special project dealing with advisers you will save related documents in this folder.Congressional Bills
This folder contains the bill folders for all Congressional bills selected for coverage. Within the main folder, there are folders labeled by session (e.g., “115th Congress Second Session). Within each session folder there is a document of “Reps Commonly Not Found.” This refers to the Web Import process for Congressional votes, and is an essential tool for staff and interns assigned to Congress. There are also several subfolders, which are identical across sessions.- House Bills: contains bill folders for legislation originating in the House
- Joint/Concurrent Resolutions: contains bill folders for resolutions from either chamber
- Nominations: contains bill folders for presidential nominations
- Senate Bills: contains bill folder for legislation originating in the Senate
Reports & Special Projects
This folder is exactly what it sounds like - in contains documents related to reports and special projects. The KV Weekly Report spreadsheet can be found in this folder, as well as spreadsheets and documents related to previous and ongoing special projects. If you are assigned a special project that does not fit into one of the other folders you will save documents here.State Bills
This folder contains a subfolder for every state. Within each state folder are folders labelled [YEAR] Session. Within these session folders are the bill folders for all bills selected for that year. The documents contained in bill folders are Press File, Bill History, Bill Text, Vote Breakdown(s), and Bill Summary, and are covered in detail elsewhere.Templates, Checklists, and Resources
This is perhaps the most useful folder in the Drive. It contains essential templates as well as helpful checklists and resources. The documents in this folder are as follows:- Bill Summary Template: self-explanatory; used by every staff member and intern, every time they need to write a summary.
- Key Votes Work Checklist: an exhaustive checklist of every step that must be completed in every type of Key Votes daily work; extremely useful for interns and new staff members, and can be printed for ease of use and accountability.
- Managing Tracking Documents: detailed description of the correct way to maintain the tracking documents used by the department; this may seem nitpicky, but it is essentially a properly functioning Key Votes program. Be sure to review this document.
- State Legislature Session Info: session limit rules, legislator type, and who can call a special session, listed by state.
- Tracking Queries: SQL queries related to Key Votes; necessary for anyone preparing a report and helpful for anyone interested in learning about SQL or our data.
- Website Wishlist: a list of ideas we’d like to see on the website when the website is one day redesigned.
Tracking Documents
This is the most frequently used folder in the Key Votes drive. It contains all of the spreadsheets we use to manage and direct workflow in the department. Within the folder are several subfolders labeled with years. You will find the current documents within the folder labeled with the current year. Within these folders are two subfolders, Spring and Fall, and three documents in the main folder. Each of these documents is extremely important, so they will be explained here in detail.Congress Bill Report
This spreadsheet is used to store and manage all selections for Congress for a given session. The spreadsheet has three tabs, each of which serves its own purpose.- Summary: This tab outlines and at-a-glance view of the selections contained in the spreadsheet, what work needs to be done, and what work has been done. Each column lists a specific piece of information from the bill report, provided by a formula. If you are an intern, this tab is view only.
- Weekly Summaries Live: the number of summaries that have been released the previous week; needed for reporting.
- Weekly Status Updates: the number of status updates that have been made in the previous week; needed for reporting.
- Votes to be Entered: the number of bills in the “Vote Entry” work stage; useful for finding and prioritizing work.
- Summaries to be Written: the number of bills in the “Summary” work stage; useful for finding and prioritizing work.
- Vote Checks Needed: the number of bills in the “Vote Check” work stage; useful for finding and prioritizing work.
- Summary Checks Needed: the number of bills in the “Summary Check” work stage; useful for finding and prioritizing work.
- Summaries to be Released: the number of bills read to be released on Friday; streamlines the weekly release process.
- Total Summaries Live: the total number of summaries released for this session; needed for reporting.
- Total Status Updates: the total number of status updates make for this session; needed for reporting.
- Analytics: this tab attempts to measure trends on departmental work over time. If you are an intern, this tab is view only.
- Average Vote Turnover Time: measures the difference between the selection date and vote entry date of a given bill, then averages this number across all bills; this is an attempt to get a picture of around how long it takes to complete a vote entry.
- Average Summary Turnover Time: measures the difference between the selection date and the summary check date of a given bill, then averages this number across all bills; this is an attempt to get a picture of around how long it takes to complete a summary and by extension all work on a bill.
- Highest Work Volume: pulls the most common selection date to establish a proxy measure of the time period with the highest volume of work; this is an attempt to establish long term trends in order to better allocate resources.
- Total Staff & Interns: counts unique names across all bills to produce the total number of people working on Congress across a given session; this is an attempt to establish long term trends in order to better allocate resources.
- Bill by Chamber of Origin: counts all bills by prefix to establish the number of bills that originated in each chamber; this is an attempt to establish long term trends in order to better allocate resources.
- Congress: this tab is the bill reports itself. It documents every bill selected for a given session, information about such bills, and information about what work has been done, when, and by whom. The section headings are color coded to indicate what type of information can be found there.
- Yellow:
- In Progress: lists the next stages of work that needs to be completed for a given bill; choices are listed on a drop down menu, and interns and staff will enter their name in the cell when work is in progress.
- Blue: columns in the blue section contain basic information about the bill
- Selection Date: this will be entered by a staff member when a selection is placed on the bill report; this is for internal tracking purposes and will not be entered in admin.
- Bill Number: also entered by a staff member, this will assist you in locating the bill folder and searching for entries on admin, and will be entered into admin during the vote entry process.
- Vote Stage: also entered by a staff member, this informs you which stage is being covered as a Key Vote.
- Comments: here staff members will note information about a bill that does not fit into other categories that you must take note of during your work, such disclaimer highlights or bill type.
- Green: columns in the green section track the vote entry process
- Name: the person that completes a vote entry will enter their name here for work tracking purposes.
- Date: the person that complete a vote entry will enter the date they completed it here for work tracking purposes.
- Orange: columns in the orange section track the summary writing process
- Vote Summary Name: an intern who completes a summary will enter their name here for work tracking purposes.
- Vote Summary Date: an intern who completes a summary will enter the date they completed it here for work tracking purposes.
- Staff Check Name: a staff member who checks or writes a summary will enter their name here for work tracking purposes.
- Staff Check Date: a staff member who checks or writes a summary will enter the date they completed it here for work tracking purposes.
- Purple: columns in the purple section track the status update process
- Release Status: the person who completes a status update will select “Released” from the drop down menu for reporting purposes; the team leave will update to “Complete” after weekly report.
- Name: the person who completes a status update will enter their name here for work tracking purposes.
- Date: the person who completes a status update will enter the date they completed it here for work tracking purposes.
- Red: columns in the red section contain instructions for and track the web check process. All of these columns are self-explanatory. Web checks take place a year after the vote is released, so do not approach these columns unless given permission.
Press Tracking Schedule
This spreadsheet manages and tracks the press tracking process, one of the most vital aspects of Key Votes work. There are tabs for each week of the year. The team lead prepares these are the beginning of the year, based on when states are in session. This is a delicate process meant to ensure that every state is tracked every week and that work is distributed evenly across the week. The columns are used to both manage and document work.- Days: the merged cells in the first week indicate the day of the week work should be done on.
- State: the state column under each day indicates which states should be tracked on that day. The press tracking schedule is difficult to develop, and it is important that we stick to the assigned days as much as possible.
- Name: the person who completes press tracking for a state will enter their name here for work tracking purposes.
- Date: the person who completes press tracking for a state will enter their name here for work tracking purposes.
State & Congressional Vetoes
This spreadsheet is used to store and manage all vetoes for a given year. It has three tabs, each of which serves its own purpose.- Summary: this tab outlines and at-a-glance view of the vetoes contained in the spreadsheet, what work needs to be done, and what work has been done. Each column lists a specific piece of information from the veto report, provided by a formula. If you are an intern, this tab is view only.
- Weekly Vetoes Live: the number of vetoes that have been released the previous week; needed for reporting.
- Total Vetoes Live: the total number of vetoes released for this year; needed for reporting.
- Vetoes to be Entered: the number of bills in the “Veto Entry” work stage; useful for finding and prioritizing work.
- Veto Checks Needed: the number of bills in the “Staff Check” work stage; useful for finding and prioritizing work.
- Analytics: this tab attempts to measure trends on departmental work over time. If you are an intern, this tab is view only.
- Average Turnover Time: measures the difference between the selection date and staff check date of a given veto, then averages this number across all vetoes; this is an attempt to get a picture of around how long it takes to complete a veto.
- Highest Work Volume: pulls the most common selection date to establish a proxy measure of the time period with the highest volume of work; this is an attempt to establish long term trends in order to better allocate resources.
- Highest Volume by State: counts the number of vetoes in each state’s tab and returns the name of the state with the greatest number of vetoes; this is an attempt to establish long term trends in order to better allocate resources.
- Total Staff & Interns: counts unique names across all vetoes to produce the total number of people working on vetoes during a given year; this is an attempt to establish long term trends in order to better allocate resources.
- Bill by Chamber of Origin: counts all bills by prefix to establish the number of bills that originated in each chamber; this is an attempt to establish long term trends in order to better allocate resources.
- Congress & States: these tabs are the veto report itself. It documents every veto selected for a given year, information about such vetoes, and information about what work has been done, when, and by whom. The section headings are color coded to indicate what type of information can be found there.
- Yellow:
- In Progress: lists the next stages of work that needs to be completed for a given bill; choices are listed on a drop down menu, and interns and staff will enter their name in the cell when work is in progress.
- Blue: columns in the blue section contain basic information about the bill
- Selection Date: this will be entered when a veto is collected; this is for internal tracking purposes and will not be entered in admin.
- Bill Number: also entered when a veto is collected, this will assist you in locating the veto folder and searching for entries on admin, and will be entered into admin during the vote entry process.
- Veto Type: also entered when a veto is collected, this informs you what type of veto is being covered
- Comments: here staff members will note information about a veto that does not fit into other categories that you must take note of during your work, such as a missing veto message or veto package.
- Green: columns in the green section track the veto entry process
- Veto Entry Name: an intern that completes a veto entry will enter their name here for work tracking purposes.
- Veto Entry Date: an intern that complete a veto entry will enter the date they completed it here for work tracking purposes.
- Staff Check Name: a staff member that completes or checks a veto entry will enter their name here for work tracking purposes.
- Staff Check Date: a staff member that completes or checks a veto entry will enter the date they completed it here for work tracking purposes.
- Red: columns in the red section contain instructions for and track the web check process. All of these columns are self-explanatory. Web checks take place a year after the vote is released, so do not approach these columns unless given permission.
- Beige: columns in the beige section contain formulas necessary for the analytics tab and should not be approached by anyone other than the team lead.
The Spring and Fall folder contain essentially identical documents to one another. Because interns typically come and go with the semester, it is most convenient to switch tracking documents in the midsummer and at the new year for ease of use. The two documents contained in each of these folders are also essential, and will be described in detail here.
State Bill Report
This spreadsheet is used to store and manage all selections for states for a given semester. The spreadsheet has three types of tabs, each of which serves its own purpose.- Summary: This tab outlines and at-a-glance view of the selections contained in the spreadsheet, what work needs to be done, and what work has been done. Each column lists a specific piece of information from the bill report, provided by a formula. If you are an intern, this tab is view only.
- Weekly Summaries Live: the number of summaries that have been released the previous week; needed for reporting.
- Weekly Status Updates: the number of status updates that have been made in the previous week; needed for reporting.
- Votes to be Entered: the number of bills in the “Vote Entry” work stage; useful for finding and prioritizing work.
- Summaries to be Written: the number of bills in the “Summary” work stage; useful for finding and prioritizing work.
- Vote Checks Needed: the number of bills in the “Vote Check” work stage; useful for finding and prioritizing work.
- Summary Checks Needed: the number of bills in the “Summary Check” work stage; useful for finding and prioritizing work.
- Summaries to be Released: the number of bills read to be released on Friday; streamlines the weekly release process.
- Total Summaries Live: the total number of summaries released for this semester; needed for reporting.
- Total Status Updates: the total number of status updates make for this semester; needed for reporting.
- Analytics: this tab attempts to measure trends on departmental work over time. If you are an intern, this tab is view only.
- Average Vote Turnover Time: measures the difference between the selection date and vote entry date of a given bill, then averages this number across all bills; this is an attempt to get a picture of around how long it takes to complete a vote entry.
- Average Summary Turnover Time: measures the difference between the selection date and the summary check date of a given bill, then averages this number across all bills; this is an attempt to get a picture of around how long it takes to complete a summary and by extension all work on a bill.
- Highest Work Volume: pulls the most common selection date to establish a proxy measure of the time period with the highest volume of work; this is an attempt to establish long term trends in order to better allocate resources.
- Total Staff & Interns: counts unique names across all bills to produce the total number of people working on states across a given semester; this is an attempt to establish long term trends in order to better allocate resources.
- Bill by Chamber of Origin: counts all bills by prefix to establish the number of bills that originated in each chamber; this is an attempt to establish long term trends in order to better allocate resources.
- States: these tabs are the bill reports itself. They document every bill selected for a given semester, information about such bills, and information about what work has been done, when, and by whom. The section headings are color coded to indicate what type of information can be found there.
- Yellow:
- In Progress: lists the next stages of work that needs to be completed for a given bill; choices are listed on a drop down menu, and interns and staff will enter their name in the cell when work is in progress.
- Blue: columns in the blue section contain basic information about the bill
- Selection Date: this will be entered by a staff member when a selection is placed on the bill report; this is for internal tracking purposes and will not be entered in admin.
- Selection Date: this will be entered by a staff member when a selection is placed on the bill report; this is for internal tracking purposes and will not be entered in admin.
- Vote Stage: also entered by a staff member, this informs you which stage is being covered as a Key Vote.
- Comments: here staff members will note information about a bill that does not fit into other categories that you must take note of during your work, such disclaimer highlights or bill type.
- Green: columns in the green section track the vote entry process
- Name: the person that completes a vote entry will enter their name here for work tracking purposes.
- Date: the person that complete a vote entry will enter the date they completed it here for work tracking purposes.
- Orange: columns in the orange section track the summary writing process
- Vote Summary Name: an intern who completes a summary will enter their name here for work tracking purposes.
- Vote Summary Date: an intern who completes a summary will enter the date they completed it here for work tracking purposes.
- Staff Check Name: a staff member who checks or writes a summary will enter their name here for work tracking purposes.
- Staff Check Date: a staff member who checks or writes a summary will enter the date they completed it here for work tracking purposes.
- Purple: columns in the purple section track the status update process
- Release Status: the person who completes a status update will select “Released” from the drop down menu for reporting purposes; the team leave will update to “Complete” after weekly report.
- Name: the person who completes a status update will enter their name here for work tracking purposes.
- Date: the person who completes a status update will enter the date they completed it here for work tracking purposes.
- Red: columns in the red section contain instructions for and track the web check process. All of these columns are self-explanatory. Web checks take place a year after the vote is released, so do not approach these columns unless given permission.
- Beige: columns in the beige section contain formulas necessary for the analytics tab and should not be approached by anyone other than the team lead.
Training Materials
This folder contains materials used for training staff and interns. It currently contains one subfolder labeled UT Training Docs, because we inherited all our training materials from the UT Key Votes office. There are four subfolders with in this folder labeled 1. Original Summary Writing Training, 2. Live Summary Review Training, 3. Summary Checking Training, and 4. Vote Training, respectively. We primarily use the Original Summary folder, with some use of the Summary Checking folder when training staff. Only the materials in these folders will be described here.- Original Summary Writing: within this folder are four additional subfolders labeled 1. Arizona, 2. Virginia, 3. New Hampshire, 4. Illinois (Optional), respectively.
- Arizona: inside this folder is another folder labeled HB 2125, which itself contains the bill text and press file for a 2012 Arizona bill. Do not save your practice summary in this folder.
- Virginia: inside this folder is another folder labeled SB 484, which itself contains the bill text and press file for a 2012 Virginia bill. Do not save your practice summary in this folder.
- New Hampshire: inside this folder is another folder labeled HB 677, which itself contains the bill text, press file, and bill history for a 2015 New Hampshire bill. Do not save your practice summary in this folder.
- Illinois: inside this folder is another folder labeled SB 1229, which itself contains the bill text and press file for a 2015 Illinois bill. Do not save your practice summary in this folder.
- Summary Checking: within this folder are two additional subfolders labeled 1. Idaho and 2. Washington, respectively.
- Idaho: inside this folder is another folder labeled H 404, which itself contains the bill text, press file, and bill summary for a 2012 Idaho bill. Be sure to switch from “Editing” to “Suggesting” in the top right corner of the Google doc before making your edits.
- Washington: inside this folder is another folder labeled SB 6239, which itself contains the bill text, press file, and bill summary for a 2012 Washington bill. Be sure to switch from “Editing” to “Suggesting” in the top right corner of the Google doc before making your edits.
