The absentee flood is here.
When the polls open on Election Day, more than half will have voted already. This is the new reality in this age of no-fault-absentee and early voting. (In 2020, the Covid year, 70 percent voted early or absentee.)
All but two states (Alabama and New Hampshire) offer some form of early, mail or no-fault absentee voting. Don't miss the boat!
You need a system that will ...
-
Reach quickly those who’ve requested or have been mailed an
absentee ballot.
If your state mails unsolicited absentee-ballot applications, you should be able to replicate the same list using the same parameters (age, voting history) as the state. Or that list could be available for download from the state or county. In most places they post a daily list of those who've requested ballots.
Whether it's a daily software download or volunteers standing at the election office with stamps and post cards, your system needs to reach these voters at the same time their ballots arrive in the mail. -
Remove from your active voter file those who’ve turned in
their ballots or have voted early.
This allows you to focus on the shrinking universe of voters who haven't yet voted or requested an absentee ballot.
Yes, this can be complicated. The Democrats have made this a science.
How can you not afford to do this?
If you're in a close race, you must run a successful absentee and early-voter campaign. Or lose.
And please don't rely on the state or county GOP to do this for you. In our experience these "absentee-chasing" programs are often abbreviated or canceled bccause someone decides the money should be spent elsewhere. And if they mail something, it will most likely be a slate card listing all candidates. Surely helpful but not nearly as effective as a card from you alone.
NOTE: The centerpiece of our plan is to ensure that all voters in metropolitan counties receive a GOP slate card, starting with on-time absentee mailings.
If you don't have a system for this, we do. You'll save thousands in postage and hundreds of volunteer hours that you’d otherwise be wasting on those who’ve already voted. And you’ll give yourself the best chance of contacting everyone before they fill out their ballots.
Do the math: Sure, you can probably keep up with the increasing daily pace of ballot requests and manage to reach most of them, but how are you going to remove from your walking, mail-merge and phone lists those who have voted? Do you really have the resources to waste in the final weeks on those who have taken themselves out of the game?