In the last several major elections we have seen the rise of a phenomenon in the political process. Early voting greatly affects voter turnout during an election. Nearly a quarter of the votes cast in the 2012 presidential election were cast early or absentee. Here are a few things you need to keep in mind to reach the early voting segment of your base:

The first and most important thing to do as you reach out to early and absentee voters is to avoid breaking the law. Early and absentee voting is one of the most strictly regulated parts of campaigning, and there are significant changes from state to state. Make sure you’re more than familiar with all the state laws regarding this.

Secondly, contact your voters. There are two distinct groups of absentee voters, those who request to vote absentee, and those who will just go vote early (depending on whether this is allowed in the state).

The first group is easier to target. This is the segment of voters that request absentee ballots.  They have to request these ballots from the Supervisor of Elections. You can get the list of ballot requests from either the supervisor of elections or the division of elections. This tells you who has requested the ballots, addresses, and possibly email and phone numbers. It is good practice to carefully time mailings to these people with the mailing of the ballots to them.

There are usually two ballot mailings; one for military requests, and then about a week later, domestic requests. Find out from the supervisor of elections when these ballots are getting mailed, and then send your literature the same day. It is also a good idea to keep your data up to date according to which ballots have been returned and which have not. Follow up with voters who are likely to support you and remind them to return their ballots.

The second group consists of those who will vote early for convenience or schedule conflict reasons. It is impossible to know which of the regular voters that aren’t requesting absentee ballots will vote early, but it is worthwhile to reach out and even encourage as many supporters as you are confident will support you to voter early. Provide forms for absentee ballot requests or information about early polling locations along with your normal material, targeted mailings, and literature drops. Encouraging your supporters to vote early allows you to focus your GOTV efforts more and more effectively as Election Day draws near.