The Absentee Voter Plan is an important part of campaign strategy that focuses on reaching voters who vote before Election Day. Key aspects of the plan include obtaining lists of past absentee voters, updating voter data based on mailings, understanding ballot application and counting procedures, and timing mailings to coincide with when absentee ballots are received. Absentee voters tend to be seniors who reliably vote, so campaigns should target outreach accordingly, while also being aware of potential issues with voter fraud through absentee voting depending on how signatures and ballots are verified in different states.

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Absentee Voters Your Crucially important Absentee Voter Plan
9 Find out
T he Absentee Voter Plan is virtually a procedures for AVballot
separate "plan within a plan" to reach a counting and signature verification and plan
group of people who vote days, some- according ly.
times weeks, before Election Day. Depending on
the district, they can represent a large block of 10 Familiarize yourself with the laws
voters, have a fairly consistent demographic governing AV.ballots in your district.
(seniors) and are identified by the clerk who
provides the voter lists. Absent voters (AV's) 11 FlagAV voters in your master voter
need to be contacted and AVballots.need.to be data base so that they do not get non-targeted
monitored as carefully as possible. mailings from your campaign.
1 Obtain the list of AVvoters from previ- There are two very important things to
ous elections from the clerk. remember about absentee voters:
2 Send out a First Class or "address They are mostly senior citizens who are
correction requested" (introductory) campaign highly likely to vote. Target your outreach
piece. pieces accordingly!
3 Update your AVlist based upon returns, This is an area where voter fraud is most
.and take the returned envelopes back to the likely to occur. Large percentages die between
clerk for them to remove deceased or moved elections, but somehow manage to vote anyway.
voters from their list. The laws about counting AVballots vary from
state to state, but if verification of signatures
4 Find out when AVapplications for this and ballots is the responsibility of an appointed
election will be mailed. or an elected city or county clerk, thepossihil-
ityoftampering remains a concern.
5 Determine deadline for applications to
be returned and when this list will be available.
6 Update your list using list of returned
applications.
7 Find out when AVballots will be mailed.
8 Time your final mailing piece to arrive the
same day or the day before' their ballots arrive.