When We Vote Early, We Win! Part 1
Why Dems are gearing up for this winning tactic
By Robbin Warner
There’s a GOTV strategy picking up speed among grassroots groups this election: voting early. Volunteer groups are gearing up to celebrate the first day of early voting in states that offer early voting in person and through mail-in ballots.
(Read a state-by-state list of early voting dates here.)
Voting early is not new. The pandemic accelerated the broad acceptance of early voting in every state. Nearly 100 million people — 69 percent of all voters — voted early in 2020, either by mail or in person.
What is new is how grassroots groups are coalescing around early voting. That’s because early voting benefits Democratic candidates up and down the ballot, helps voters, and ignites a winning momentum.
For candidates and campaigns: Early voting means they can stop contacting voters through phone banks or canvassing. Campaigns can then focus money and volunteer time on less consistent voters.
For voters: Early voters receive fewer voting reminders, avoid long lines on Election Day, and can choose a convenient day and time to vote. In some polling locations, early voters also avoid antagonism and any staged efforts to provoke poll workers and disturb the process. It also provides time to fix any voter registration issues that may arise.
Social Influence: A strong early vote conveys enthusiasm and encourages other Dems to vote early. It also creates social pressure on episodic voters to join their neighbors and vote early.
Media Coverage: Early voting builds morale whenreported by the media, sending a message to the district, state, and the nation that Democrats are voting in large numbers.
Thanks to early voting, Election Day has turned into Election Season. But early voting means different things in different states. In Oregon, where almost everyone votes by mail and has for the past 20 years, early voting means mailing in or dropping off your ballot as soon as it arrives. In California, where everyone is automatically mailed a ballot with a prepaid return, people can mail in, drop off, or vote early in person. And then there are states like Virginia where early voting happens in person starting September 20.
Grassroots groups in Virginia are all over the push for early voting. Groups are sending “Vote Day 1” postcards, putting out Vote Early yard signs, and organizing parties at the polls to celebrate the first day of early voting. The Virginia Grassroots Coalition has an entire section of its website dedicated to Early voting organizing. “We are doing what we do best,” says Stair Calhoun, co-founder of Network NOVA, “organizing and mobilizing our friends, family and neighbors to vote early.”
“Right now people want to know ways they can help,” says Katherine White, co-host of the Friday Power Lunch podcast. “Telling people about the benefits of voting on Day 1 is easy action to do. It’s also a great conversation starter. I used it at the pool today with a friend who isn’t politically engaged, and she was very interested in how her early vote could help the Harris-Walz campaign.”
The most likely early voters are those who vote in every election, affectionately known as “Super Dems.” These are the voters most likely to be motivated by the benefits of voting early. With intentional outreach, we can grow their ranks.
Simon Rosenberg, founder of the Hopium Chronicle Substack, is helping to spread “Vote Day 1” enthusiasm. He has launched a series of “Winning the House Thursday Zooms” where volunteers can make phone calls or write postcards with “Vote Day 1 messages” to Super Dems in swing districts. “Voting early is a winning strategy,” Rosenberg says. You can register for Simon’s Thursday’s Zoom events here. With enough Democrats voting early, he says, we can win this election in October.
Though the joy emanating from the top of the ticket is contagious, one way to ensure the success of the Harris-Walz team is to help Democrats up and down the ballot. A Vote Day 1 campaign works in any state, for any candidate. To see Day 1 voting in any state, click here.
In Part 2 of this two-part article, we provide a checklist of early voting activities.
Let’s do it! When we Vote Early, We WIN!
