Published on February 2, 2024, 12:37 am

The concept of mail-in voting, despite being as old as the Civil War, has only recently gained momentum in our modern political landscape. Originally necessitating a valid reason to avoid traditional Election Day commotions, recent efforts by liberal states and progressive organizations have pushed for the introduction of no-excuse mail-in voting. Combined with strategic voter contact operations known as “ballot chasing,” these efforts have given Democrats an appreciable advantage over their Republican counterparts during pre-Election Day voting.

In 2022 just 33.8 percent of early votes went to Republicans, a number that significantly declines when focused only on mail-in ballots. As it stands today, 28 states and Washington D.C. allow absentee voting without any provided excuse, proving Democrats successful in their lobbying for this electoral evolution.

What is most striking about this development isn’t simply the shift towards absenteeism but instead the commitment from Democrats and their supporters to ensuring its efficacy. Over one hundred million dollars have been spent on various programs aimed at identifying mail-in voters and confirming their ballots through Election Day. This dispersion of funds stretches across multiple demographic-focused organizations with the Democratic National Committee controlling top-level data operations.

Meanwhile, Republicans have maintained their strategy encouraging Election Day voting and have seen less success due to these evolving electoral trends.

Let’s delve deeper into what exactly is ballot chasing – an unfamiliar term for many including several Republican Party officials and activists too.

According to Cliff Maloney, CEO of Citizens Alliance who launched a ballot chase initiative in Pennsylvania, ballot chasing refers to targeting low tendency mail-in voters and registered independents, then reaching them with your message in diverse ways until finally confirming they’ve sent their mail-in vote.

Ballot chasing is often confused with “ballot harvesting” – which involves turning in ballots on behalf of others – or “ballot curing” – tracking down challenged ballots post-election to rectify errors. However, none of these are the same as ballot chasing. Being a data-driven operation, ballot chasing requires an understanding of who the permanent mail-in voters, independents, and low-propensity voters are and how best to reach them, proving to be a costly mission.

Democrats have been chasing mail-in ballots long before the pandemic era. However, the recent election overhaul provoked by social distancing guidelines has given rise to stronger endeavors helmed by Democrats. In 2020 alone, Democrat Super PAC Priorities USA allocated $24 million towards mobilizing a national mail-in vote effort while others like Fair Fight rolled out training in numerous swing states.

With ballot chasing having become cornerstone of the national Democratic strategy, it’s evident that their proactive approach has had tangible effects – markedly more so than their Republican counterparts who have shown less familiarity with or investment into these methods.

Existing on all sides of this issue are opinions and criticisms from political figures and professionals alike. While some argue that efforts such as Turning Point Action’s Chase The Vote initiative are exorbitant costs for three swing states, others lament what they perceive as a lack of effort from key Republican figureheads such as RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel who recently unveiled the “Bank Your Vote” initiative.

Notably differing from the comprehensive method used by Democrats which involves actively pursuing likely absentee voters directly through various channels – ‘Bank Your Vote’ simply encourages voters to visit BankYourVote.com after sending their ballots in. As many critics point out though – those likely to visit such a site would already highly likely be planning to cast their votes rendering it somewhat redundant in addressing party deficits.

Looking ahead it is clear that whether or not Republicans will reassess or reconsider their current strategies – particularly regarding coordination with grassroots organizations – remains uncertain amidst these changing electoral landscapes driven by evolving voter behaviors anchored in principles predating the Civil War itself.