More Glendale voters used the postal service to cast their votes than a polling center ballot box for the election on Tuesday, a trend that’s been on the rise in the city — and across the state — now for years. The shift, candidates and elections experts say, has meant harder and longer campaigns that must capture voters over a much longer period of time. “You have to make sure you get your message out there in time for the earlier voters,” said Lori Cox Han, professor of political science at Chapman University. City Council incumbent Laura Friedman’s campaign was a case in point. She timed her television ads, which ran on both cable and broadcast channels, to air around the time the sample ballots arrived. “The polls were open as soon as those absentee ballot were in their hands,” said Friedman, who, according to unofficial results released this week, recaptured her seat. About 62% of voters in Tuesday’s municipal election voted by mail, roughly the same as 2011, but up 5% since 2007.
Top candidates said they paid close attention to absentee voters, who are playing an increasingly important role in municipal elections. Plus, if a campaign gets a voter to turn in an absentee ballot early, that’s one less person that might skip going to the polls on Election Day, experts said.
It’s especially important for underdogs, who have a harder time generating mass voter interest, said Jaime Regalado, a political analyst and professor emeritus of political science at Cal State Los Angeles.
“You need to make things easier for voters or they will not vote,” Regalado said. “Typical American voters are lazy, especially in and around Los Angeles.”
Full Article: Success of mail-in ballots lengthens campaign, candidates say – Glendale News Press.