What Campaigns and Organizations Should Know About Vote By Mail
By Sam Liebman
With the Coronavirus impacting nearly every facet of our daily lives, it comes as no surprise that the course of politics has changed drastically in response. Elections all over the country have been postponed, and various state-issued guidelines have been announced to help navigate this new political terrain.
For many states, voting by mail is becoming the new norm, as it ensures a higher degree of safety for voters. As elections move towards vote by mail, traditional campaign strategy focusing on “getting out the vote” on election day itself becomes increasingly obsolete. So given this new territory, what can campaigns do to ensure people vote?
Campaigns should keep in mind that an expansive vote-by-mail program effectively prolongs election day itself, with voters being able to cast their ballots as soon as they receive them through Election Day. Because of this, campaigns need to adjust their campaign timelines, and act as though any day that a voter has their hands on a ballot, could be Election Day. This means that education on candidates and campaigns must start as early as possible, allowing voters to become acquainted with their options far before they get hold of their ballots.
So what does this mean?
1. Communicate early and often.
With elections shifting to vote-by-mail, campaigns will have to adapt their timelines and communications programs. With vote-by-mail changes, voters will cast their ballots earlier and over a longer period of time. Communicating early and taking control of the narrative is critical to success.
This means that first mail pieces, digital and television ads campaigns typically send a few months to a few weeks before an election should be sent several weeks earlier, if possible. Voters need to feel comfortable about who they are casting their ballots for, and in order for that to happen, they need to have an opportunity to familiarize themselves with their options.
Introductory pieces of mail, digital or television advertisements that highlight a candidate’s message, values and background will help voters get acquainted before ballots hit. Repetition is critical to ensuring your message breaks through and that means adjusting budgets to reflect the shifts in paid communication needs.
2. Adjust your turnout models & GOTV plan.
Data show that all vote-by-mail or majority vote-by-mail elections can increase voter turnout. That means likely voters universes may expand, requiring campaigns to revisit how they are segmenting their communications universes.
3. Increased voter education is a must.
With the country’s shift towards voting by mail inevitably comes an increase of voter confusion and anxiety. Many, if not most, voters are not used to voting absentee, early, or by mail. Many voters are comfortable with the idea of going to their polling place on election day, and casting their ballots on the machines. As the Coronavirus continues to impact our country, voting in-person has become potentially problematic, leaving voters in unfamiliar territory.
In order to ensure voter turnout, campaigns must do their job in educating voters on all changes in the voting process. This means reminding voters of important dates and deadlines so they do not miss the window of opportunity to request a ballot, or return their ballot once received.
4. Chase, chase, chase those ballots!
In a normal election cycle, a targeted vote-by-mail program can help put mail in ballots in the hands of your voters, allowing campaigns to chase targeted universes of voters. All vote-by-mail or majority vote-by-mail elections change the calculus as all voters will receive a mail-in ballot. Adjusting GOTV strategies to account for an expanded universe of mail voters is important.
Records of who has received and returned ballots may be available to campaigns through their country clerks. Identifying which voters have returned ballots helps campaigns conserve resources. Further, a robust voter ID program will help with chasing ballots, and can be done by reaching out to voters via text, phone, email, direct mail, and digital/social media. Voter ID and ballot chasing can also be done simultaneously, but in order for a campaign to be successful, they must have a strategy to consistently remind their supporters to cast their ballots.
