It’s that time of year.
Your trash can is full of political mailers. Voting rights campaigns and advocates won’t stop calling and texting. They may even knock on your door.
If you can’t take it anymore, there’s one way to get rid of these groups: vote early.
“Every campaign watches every penny it spends,” said Dennis Willard, a Democratic consultant from Ohio. “It wants to spend its money talking to voters before they vote. If they run their campaign well, they won’t talk to voters after they vote.”
Campaigns have a clear mission every election cycle: strengthen the base, win over independent voters and find people willing to break ranks with their party. Political operatives need data to achieve that goal, and there is plenty of it available.
Any member of the public can view Ohio voter rolls, including an individual’s name, address and voting history. County election boards also publish lists showing who requested an absentee ballot and whether the ballot was returned. Campaigns rely on this information to see who voted, so they can focus resources on people who are less likely to show up.
Ohio is not a presidential battleground, so voters are not subject to the same level of communication as those in Pennsylvania or Wisconsin. But the text messages and pollsters will likely keep coming for Ohioans waiting until Nov. 5 to cast their ballots.
“Voters are incentivized to vote early not only because it makes their personal lives and home schedules easier, but they are also less likely to be targeted and bombarded with messages in competitive races up and down the ballot,” says Chris Maloney. , a Republican strategist who advised Senator Matt Dolan’s U.S. Senate campaign.
How do I vote early in Ohio?
Ohioans can vote early in person at the following times:
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October 25: 8am to 6pm
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October 26: 8am to 4pm
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October 27: 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
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October 28: 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM
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October 29: 7:30 AM to 8:30 PM
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Oct. 30-Nov. 1: 7:30 am to 7:30 pm
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November 2: 8am to 4pm
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November 3: 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
There is no early voting on the Monday before the election. To find your county’s early voting location, visit voteohio.gov.
How do I vote absentee in Ohio?
Ohioans have until October 29 to request an absentee ballot. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by November 4 and received by November 9 to be counted. Voters can also take completed ballots to their county board of elections before the polls close on Election Day.
Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations in Ohio.
This article originally appeared on the Cincinnati Enquirer: Early voting is one way to stem the flow of political writing and mailers
