As summer gives way to fall, we campaigners turn our attention to getting out the vote. Election Day has become an election month thanks to expanded early and absentee voting. More and more voters are casting their ballots – and making up their minds – earlier than ever before.
The polling place has moved from the community center to the kitchen table. A voter’s ballot may sit next to a stack of bills for days, if it ever gets returned at all. With no line to stand in and no volunteers working the polling place, digital campaigning can take on a great role in ballot chasing.
Convenience Over Ideology
Often the instinct is to treat an unreturned ballot as a persuasion problem, but research says otherwise. When the Center for Campaign Innovation surveyed Virginia voters after the 2023 elections, 45% named convenience as their top reason for voting before Election Day.
The voter with a ballot on their counter has usually already decided who they’re going to vote for, but what they need is the deadline reminder and information that will nudge them to filling it out and dropping it in the mail or nearest drop box. Building a voting plan is your message for ballot chasing.
Organize Your List
You can’t chase voters that you can’t reach. Many voters report being asked for money by a campaign before they’re ever asked for their vote. Expand your email and SMS programs to identify infrequent voters who need ballot chasing, not donation browbeating.
There’s still time to build your opted in GOTV list for your early and absentee voting universe. Platforms like Nudge help your campaign connect voters with accurate and reliable election information while also building your ability to contact them later.
Find Your Election Data
Ballot chasing relies on the list of voters who have requested and received a mail ballot but who have not yet returned one. Most states publish this list, often with daily updates, while others may restrict the data. Work with your state party to learn more and get access if you can.
Use this ballot request data to prioritize your efforts, target your outreach, and optimize your budget. Don’t waste time and money on a voter who has already returned their ballot. Now is the time to get this in place.
Tap Into Your Supporter Network
Your campaign can use relational organizing to connect supporters with their friends and neighbors who haven’t yet returned their mail-in ballot. A text from a known contact with a friendly reminder to vote early gets seen and acted on better than yet another P2P text.
With relational organizing apps like SwipeRed or Numinar, you can pair your absentee voter data directly with your supporters’ contact lists so they can see exactly who they already know with an outstanding ballot.
Conclusion
Don’t let the ballot chase phase of the campaign catch you off guard. Familiarize yourself with the dates in your state, get your data organized, and put your plan in place now.
While your campaign may have Election Day circled on the calendar, for many voters, the polls open much sooner. A lack of preparation on your part could give your opponents a head start.