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More than 100 million Americans are expected to cast their ballots before Election Day this year. During the 2020 elections, 45% of voters went to the polls early. In some states, ballots can be cast as early as September.
As Americans’ voting behaviors continue to shift post-COVID along with the expansion of early in-person voting or vote by mail, campaigners need to adopt a new mindset of “Election Month” instead of an Election Day.
For campaigners, this is a valuable opportunity to bank votes from both reliable supporters as well as infrequent voters. What does an “Election Month” mindset look like?
Awareness
Start by making early voting a visible part of your campaign’s strategy. This includes changing the way your candidate and the entire team talk about getting out the vote. The phrase “Election Day” should always be expanded to include early voting. Internally and externally, the dates for early voting should be well known.
Education
For many voters, casting a ballot on Election Day is a tradition and visible sign of their civic duty. Your campaign must work to educate voters about the early voting process, including key dates, how to request mail-in ballots, and any other requirements that may be particular to your state.
It’s also important that you educate supporters about the integrity of vote by mail and why it’s important for the success of your campaign that you bank as many votes as early as possible.
Convenience
Research from the Center for Campaign Innovation shows that 45% of early voters cited convenience as their primary motivators for voting before Election Day. Incorporate messages about skipping the lines, crossing off to-do lists, and fulfilling civic duty into your communications about early voting.
Plan
Voters that make a plan to vote are more likely to turn out than those that don’t. That’s especially critical with early voting in-person where voters must find a location that might be different than their usual polling place. Additionally, requesting and returning mail ballots requires voters to factor in time.
Use tools like VotePro to help them make a plan.
Conclusion
In some cases, voters will start casting ballots as early as September. Your GOTV plan needs to take into account that it is Election Month and not Election Day. The old 72 hour period is not sufficient.
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