Once upon a time, (actually this has happened twice that I know of for a certain fact), a campaign received stacks and stacks of volunteer-handwritten #PostcardsToVoters mailed to them in bundles from all over the country. They hadn't asked for these cards.
1/
1/
/2
But, well-meaning volunteers wrote them, put stamps on them, and then bulk shipped them to the campaign for them to be mailed locally to get local postmarks so that voters would think they'd been written by their neighbors.
These two campaigns didn't have time to proofread.
But, well-meaning volunteers wrote them, put stamps on them, and then bulk shipped them to the campaign for them to be mailed locally to get local postmarks so that voters would think they'd been written by their neighbors.
These two campaigns didn't have time to proofread.
/3
With all the critical work they had on their plates, they couldn't spare anyone to sort through the stacks of postcards to remove any that were illegible or contained problematic language or images.
So, discretely, instead of taking them to be mailed. They were disposed of.
With all the critical work they had on their plates, they couldn't spare anyone to sort through the stacks of postcards to remove any that were illegible or contained problematic language or images.
So, discretely, instead of taking them to be mailed. They were disposed of.
/4
They knew, also, that as soon as they handled the cards to be mailed, they were subject to election and campaign finance laws related to in-kind donations and disclosure notices on mailings. And they didn't have time to comply with all of that. Since they hadn't spent any...
They knew, also, that as soon as they handled the cards to be mailed, they were subject to election and campaign finance laws related to in-kind donations and disclosure notices on mailings. And they didn't have time to comply with all of that. Since they hadn't spent any...
/5
...money on the cards or the postage and the risk of sending inappropriate messaging that couldn't be proofread plus the burdens of compliance, it was an "easy" decision to throw away the cards and avoid a number of uncertain negative outcomes.
...money on the cards or the postage and the risk of sending inappropriate messaging that couldn't be proofread plus the burdens of compliance, it was an "easy" decision to throw away the cards and avoid a number of uncertain negative outcomes.
/6
Moral of this story: unless a campaigns tells you to do so, don't send them your #PostcardsToVoters expecting them to put them in the mail for local postmarks. Chances are your cards won't get mailed. But, even if they do...
Moral of this story: unless a campaigns tells you to do so, don't send them your #PostcardsToVoters expecting them to put them in the mail for local postmarks. Chances are your cards won't get mailed. But, even if they do...
/7
...now there's a chance the opposition could learn about this ploy and blow it up on social media and in the news as a negative because it will look as if the campaign meant to deceive voters of the origin of volunteer postcards.
...now there's a chance the opposition could learn about this ploy and blow it up on social media and in the news as a negative because it will look as if the campaign meant to deceive voters of the origin of volunteer postcards.
/8
Follow the instructions for mailing that are provided to you by the same people giving you the voter addresses and message to write. Don't follow other people's instructions or suggestions. Stick to the rules of the program in which you're participating.
The End. =)
Follow the instructions for mailing that are provided to you by the same people giving you the voter addresses and message to write. Don't follow other people's instructions or suggestions. Stick to the rules of the program in which you're participating.
The End. =)
