Voting Early/Voting On Day 1 - Why It Matters
In the coming weeks we will be discussing the importance of Voting Early this November. Voting Early - in person, drop boxes where available - is one of our most powerful tools to ensure there is a free and fair election this November. We need to make voting early something that all responsible Democrats do, and help people understand why it matters more this year than ever before.
Promoting Voting Early will be a great project for grassroots groups across the country this summer and fall!
Here is the basic idea…..
Our elections have changed a lot in recent years. Most voters can now vote early in person or with no-excuse mail/drop box ballots. This has made it far easier for people to vote which is one reason we’ve seen such a big increase in turnout in recent years. It also has forced our campaigns to move away from Election Day-focused Get-Out-The-Vote programs, and begin our work to get our folks to vote much earlier. The recognition that our Election Day is now as Tom Bonier calls it “just the last day of voting.
This new early vote electoral system is important for Democrats, who traditionally have more episodic and new voters in our coalition. This extra time to do GOTV allows us, if we have the money and the volunteers, to reach down and touch voters less likely to vote than we could in the past, and this increases our turnout and helps us win.
Practically, the faster our voters vote the quicker our campaigns can reach and turnout these less likely voters. Every night campaigns get the list of people who voted that day, so when you vote early you come off the campaign GOTV rolls (and you stop getting canvassed and called!!!!) allowing the campaign to move on to other people who have not voted yet. So having our voters vote as early as possible, on Day 1 as a I call it, is something that increases turnout for us and helps us win.
All of this is why I want to encourage everyone in the Hopium community to become an advocate for Voting Early/Voting On Day 1. Make sure you do it yourself. Educate your networks about why it matters.
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.
But what is new to 2026 is the clear intent of Trump to try to prevent the counting of ballots that arrive or are counted after Election Day. This is why our message now should be
Vote Early, but vote early in person or via drop box if you can. You can still vote by mail but try to get your ballot in as early as you can. Day 1 is best for all forms of voting - in person, drop box, mail. Just vote early everyone - it helps us win and makes it harder for them to cheat or disrupt the election.
We have five months to develop an understanding among Democrats that Voting on Day 1 is a vital new tool we have to help us win and make it far more likely the 2026 election comes off without interference. There is a reason Trump hates non-Election Day in person voting so much - it makes our democracy work better and far harder for him to cheat or challenge the election results.
- Simon, 6/14/26
