Postcards to Voters
FormationMarch 11, 2017 (2017-03-11)
FounderTony McMullin
TypeVolunteer organization
Location
Websitepostcardstovoters.org

Postcards To Voters is a group of American volunteers who write postcards to targeted voters in the hope of increasing Democratic turnout in close, key elections across the country.

History

Founded and registered in 2018 as an LLC by Tony McMullin, the group started informally in March 2017 with a handful of volunteers who wrote postcards in support of Georgia congressional candidate Jon Ossoff. By November 2018 it had grown to nearly 40,000 volunteers[1] from every state in the U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii.[2] By March 2020, according to the founder, it had grown to more than 70,000 volunteers and had sent almost 7 million postcards.[3] While not every volunteer who signed up for Postcards To Voters is still actively participating, approximately 9000 unique volunteers request addresses each month.[4] Volunteers write and often decorate the postcards by hand, paying for their own supplies and postage.[5]

McMullin uses technology to keep the organization running smoothly. He has an interactive texting system, called Abby, that was created and donated by a volunteer. Additionally, address lists are "seeded" with addresses belonging to members of the group to verify that the postcards are being written as prescribed.[3]

Operational costs for Postcards To Voters are funded through the sale of postcards and monetary donations. There are more than a dozen postcard designs available for sale on Amazon, Etsy, and on the Postcards To Voters website; however, volunteers are free to buy postcards from other vendors. Free downloadable templates are also available.[6] Further funding is provided by MyPostcard[7] and the Out Loud Shop,[8] where a portion of their merchandise sales benefit the organization. Campaigns pay nothing for the service, but if a candidate is happy with the service they are asked to be a reference for future campaigns. Additionally, in an effort to help candidates, Postcards To Voters teamed up with Ragtag, an organization that can assist candidates build an online presence.[9]

During a 2018 interview, McMullin said he quit his job in order to run his group full-time in advance of the 2018 midterm elections.[1] In a 2020 podcast interview, McMullin stated that in the two months before the midterms, the group wrote nearly 2 million postcards for 32 campaigns. He said he was supporting himself by doing occasional consulting work and selling postcards.[3]

Since the group's founding, many other volunteer organizations have begun sending handwritten postcards and letters to voters in hopes of increasing voter turnout, in addition to phonebanking, textbanking, and traditional canvassing.[10][11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Tackett, Michael (November 1, 2018). "Writing Postcards Brings Voters Back From the Edge: 'It's Sharpie Therapy'". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Walker, Melissa (May 16, 2018). "Teenagers Are Helping Flip Seats in 2018 Elections With Postcards to Voters". Teen Vogue.
  3. 1 2 3 "The Power of the Pen with Tony McMullin of Postcards to Voters | Episode 433". Resistance Dashboard. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  4. ↑ Mariotti, Renato, host. "Making a Difference: How Can We Get Involved This Election Season? (with Tori Taylor and "Tony the Democrat")" Stitcher Podcast, 25 July 2020.
  5. ↑ Wan, William (November 2, 2018). "Postcards from the left: Resistance groups take aim at Trump, one letter at a time". The Washington Post.
  6. ↑ "Templates". Postcards to Voters.
  7. ↑ "Postcards to Voters - Shop Unique Postcard Sets | MyPostcard". MyPostcard & Postcards To Voters. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  8. ↑ "Out Loud Shop - Look Good and Feel Good in our clever Resistance Ts". Out Loud Shop. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  9. ↑ "Partners". Ragtag. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  10. ↑ Conde, Ximena (January 13, 2020). "Can Philly voters sway Iowa caucus-goers with postcards?". WHYY-FM.
  11. ↑ "A Throwback Way to Win a Pandemic Election: COVID-19 may have forced the 2020 campaign online, but progressives are trying out an old-fashioned turnout tactic for the fall: letter-writing". The Atlantic. April 30, 2020.

Further reading

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