Absentee ballot chase program

Randomization and treatment texts occurred on October 9, A second message was sent to a subset of targets on October 27, this substudy is controlled for in this analysis but reported separately.

All participants were tracked through the voter file to determine if they voted in the general election and by which method. The graphed interaction indicates that people with low turnout scores were more affected than high turnout likelihood voters. It suggests that text message chase for VBM ballots may increase voting. This is especially positive news, as text messaging is relatively cheap and fast compared to other methods, which are either more costly or more time-consuming.

Further, the exploratory findings suggest that lower turnout voters may be particularly affected, which may mean that this is a particularly good tactic for low turnout likelihood voters. If this finding can be replicated, it may make this tactic even more cost efficient, allowing people to target those who will be most affected. Due to the unique nature of this sample, and the issues caused by the simultaneous substudy, this result should be replicated to ensure it is reliable.

But early and absentee voting can be very, very different depending on where you live. While there are states that continue to limit absentee voting, early voting, or both, the trend across the country in recent years has been to make it easier for voters to cast a ballot.

What is absentee voting? Absentee voting is the process of voting at some point before Election Day at a location other than a designated polling place.

All states allow some sort of absentee voting for populations like members of the military. But how accessible absentee voting is really depends on the state and location. Due to federal law, no states allow absentee voting to take place online though some states do allow an individual to request an absentee ballot online.

What is early voting? But the permissible early voting windows can vary widely in states where early voting is allowed. Early voting windows can range in length from four days to 45 days, with an average span of 19 days.

Unlike Election Day, some states even permit early voting to take place on Saturdays and Sundays. Why do early and absentee voting exist? Civil War so soldiers could cast a ballot back in their home states.

Today, both absentee and early voting exist largely to make voting more accessible. Absentee voting, for instance, is a great way for many seniors to vote from the comfort of their homes. Early voting can allow people who may do shift work to vote on a day other than Election Day, which may conflict with their work schedule.

Of course, in the age of COVID, early and absentee voting are both a means to allow for safer voting either by avoiding in-person contact through absentee voting, or by voting in person on a day that may be less crowded than Election Day.

Scheuermann added that with so many people requesting absentee ballots in the primary and with everyone receiving a ballot in the mail for the November election, traditional ballot chasing will not be helpful. But that strategy will be useless in the general election. This is an excerpt of Final Reading. For the full rundown of bills in motion at the Statehouse, the daily legislative calendar and interviews with newsmakers, sign up here for the unabridged version delivered straight to your inbox Tuesday through Friday evenings.

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