Lots of reasons why it’s a good idea
I’d like to reinforce Simon Rosenberg’s advice on The Importance of Voting on Day 1 of early voting. Digby referenced it on Sunday.
You are going to vote anyway. Voting in person on Day 1 of early voting has several advantages. First, once you’ve voted you will quickly “stop getting canvassed and called!!!!” Second, once you are scratched off the list, campaigns will turn their dollars, attention and efforts to turning out voters needing more of a nudge than you. And they’ll have more lead time for reaching more of them.
Rosenberg notes:
Voting on Day 1 has other benefits. A heavy early turnout leads to stories about “hey everyone is voting” putting social pressure on people to go vote, which also increases turnout. Voting early in big numbers also becomes a very public affirmation that our democracy and election system is working as intended, which creates a greater incentive for people to vote and makes it far harder for the Republicans to cheat, disrupt or contest the election.
That’s a lengthy way of saying stories about heavy voting are “social proof.” Social proof, says Anat Shenker-Osorio, is “arguably most effective tool we’ve got. People do the thing they believe their kind of people do.”
The press runs prominent stories about the first day of early voting. Days 3, 4 and 5 get no press. The bigger the Day 1 turnout, the more press coverage and the stronger the “I’ll have what she’s having” message sent to lower-propensity voters.
If there’s any issue with your ballot, voting early (Day 1, please?) leaves you time to straighten it out. I helped a local voter who called in a panic in 2012. He received word from the state election protection lawyers that his vote was contested. Herbert (not his real name) had been flagged for double voting.
Here’s what happened. Herbert’s son, Herbert Jr. (same address), voted at one of our Early Voting sites, signed the log, and the elections clerk mistakenly crossed off Herbert Sr.’s name in the voting register. Herbert Sr. voted at another location later the same day and the clerk there recorded it accurately. Compiling records after hours, the computer saw two votes by Herbert Sr. Because this was the Early Voting period, Herbert (and our attorney) was down at the Board of Elections the next morning to clear it up. The Board quickly discovered the clerk’s error, Herbert’s “second” ballot was voided, and Herbert was issued a new ballot to re-vote.
Mailing vote-by-mail ballots as early as possible affords the same advantage if there’s any issue with them. “Ballot curing” is allowed in many places. In the past here, volunteers checked Board of Elections records for flagged ballots each day and contacted the voters to help “cure” any deficiencies. Today, our BoE handles that directly. Election Day is likely to be too late.
We need a 2024 early turnout like the first Obama election. Obama’s volunteers were everywhere and there were lines here on Day 1:
Early voting was so intense here in 2008 that by Election Day there was virtually no one left to vote at my precinct who intended to. Between 3 p.m. and polls closing at 7:30 p.m., six voters showed up. It was like an episode of the Twilight Zone. Just me and the tumbleweeds outside in the street. In the end, Barack Obama won the state by 14,000 votes, 3,000 less than the margin delivered out of our county. That was close. Not Florida 2000 close. Not Roy Cooper 2016 close. But too close.
Election Day 2008 was a yawn until the results came in. Make it so again. Vote on Day 1.
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For The Win, 5th Edition is ready for download. Request a copy of my free countywide GOTV planning guide at ForTheWin.us.