Updated Oct. 26, 2026
Early voting is running well ahead of the last midterm. The Hill reported on Oct. 24 that more than 23 million ballots had been accepted nationwide, compared with more than 15 million at a similar point before the 2022 midterms. An Associated Press analysis published Oct. 21 found early voting in Texas up 74% from the same point in 2022.
More ballots coming in early means a campaign’s turnout universe shrinks faster every day. The final eight days are no longer one long Election Day push. They are a daily sequence, and every channel needs a job and a turn.
This is the channel-by-day plan. Building the chase list itself, from official ballot data to matching and the daily checklist, is covered in our guide to early-vote chase programs using official ballot data.
Start with who to drop
Every morning, the first task is subtraction. When the official file shows a supporter’s ballot as returned or accepted, that voter comes off the turnout lists for every channel at once:
- P2P texting: remove them from the next send and from any scheduled follow-ups.
- Automated calling: pull them from the upload before the next recorded message goes out.
- Live calling: take them out of the call sheets so callers spend their shifts on voters who still have ballots out.
- Digital ads: on platforms that allow list-based targeting for political ads, refresh the uploaded audience or add the voted list as an exclusion, so the campaign stops paying to remind people who already voted. Google limits election-ad targeting to location, age, gender and context, so customer lists can’t be used there.
Three groups need their own handling:
- A ballot flagged for a problem, such as a missing signature, moves to a separate cure track. Those voters get pointed to the election office’s own cure instructions, not a generic reminder.
- A voter who says “I already voted” can be paused from reminders, but confirm it against the next official update before treating it as final. Files often lag a day or more.
- Anyone who opts out stays out. A fresh list upload must never put a stopped number back into a texting or calling program.
The eight-day schedule
The days below count back from Election Day. Early-voting end dates and mail-ballot return deadlines differ by state, so set the calendar from each state’s election office before the first send. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission links to every state’s office.
Day 8: Reset the universe
Load the latest official update and apply the suppression rules above. Send the first P2P text to supporters with mail ballots outstanding and to early-vote targets who haven’t voted. Ask a simple question, such as when they plan to vote, so replies tell you something. Make sure digital ads to the same not-yet-voted audience are already live. On Meta, every version you plan to use this week, including “early voting ends soon” and Election Day creative, has to be running before the platform’s restriction period opens early Tuesday (see the ad-platform note below).
Day 7: Live calls to mail-ballot holders
Put live callers on supporters who requested a mail ballot but haven’t returned it. A conversation can uncover the real obstacle: the ballot never arrived, it’s sitting on the kitchen counter, or the voter isn’t sure how to return it. The U.S. Postal Service recommends mailing a completed ballot at least one week before the deadline by which the election office must receive it. From here on, steer mail voters toward the in-person return options their state allows, and check the state’s rules before suggesting any of them.
Day 6: First recorded message
Send a short automated call in the candidate’s voice to voters on eligible lines, with a single clear ask: return your ballot or vote early. Keep it under a minute. Our post on automated calls vs. live calls covers which jobs fit a recording and which need a person.
Day 5: Second text to non-responders
Refresh the suppression list, then send a second P2P text only to people who haven’t replied and haven’t voted. Include official early-voting locations and hours, drawn from the election office. Keep digital ads running at steady frequency.
Day 4: Push the last early-voting weekdays
In many states, in-person early voting winds down near the end of the final week. Where it does, this is the day to say so plainly. Run live calls on the highest-priority supporters still outstanding, and rotate digital ads to “early voting ends soon” creative in those states. On Meta, that means an ad that already ran before the restriction period, turned on or given more budget.
Days 3 and 2: The final weekend
Where early voting is open on the weekend, text the hours and locations. Keep volunteer phone banks on live calls during reasonable daytime hours. Refresh the suppression list each morning if new official data is available, because weekend files can still move.
Day 1: Make the plan for tomorrow
Send a P2P text asking where and when the voter will cast a ballot, with a link to the state’s official polling-place lookup. Send the second recorded message to eligible lines. Shift digital spend to Election Day creative, using ads that are already approved and running on any platform with a final-week restriction.
Election Day: Morning, midday, final call
Text early in the morning, run live calls through the middle of the day, and send a final text in the afternoon, timed to the voter’s local poll-closing time. Keep digital ads running to the not-yet-voted audience until polls close.
Compliance basics for the final week
Speed is not an excuse to skip the rules. Three points matter most in a compressed schedule:
- Quiet hours. No single nationwide window covers every political text or call. Schedule by the voter’s location, not the office clock. Our post on texting quiet hours and state laws explains why the commonly quoted window isn’t a universal rule.
- Opt-outs. Every text program needs working STOP handling, and every channel should honor a clear request to stop. Keep one suppression file shared across texting, automated calling and live calling.
- Recorded calls. Federal rules treat recorded calls to landlines and cell phones differently, and they limit how many prerecorded political calls a residential line can receive without consent in any 30-day period. Count the calls already made to each line in the past 30 days, not just this calendar month, before scheduling more. See our overview of TCPA rules for political calls and texts.
Ad platforms have their own final-week rules. Meta blocks new U.S. ads about social issues, elections or politics from 12:01 a.m. Pacific time on Tuesday, Oct. 27, through Election Day. Ads that ran before then can keep running, and advertisers can change their budget, bid and end date or pause them, but not their creative or targeting. Load every final-week version before that window opens, and check each other platform’s current political ad policy before counting on late changes.
This is general information, not legal advice. Check current rules with your campaign’s counsel.
Keep the plan tight
The campaigns that finish strongest treat the final week as a series of daily decisions. Refresh the list, drop who’s voted, give each channel its job, and spend the last conversations on the supporters who still have a ballot to cast.
Planning your final-week push?
We can help you sequence P2P texting, automated calling, live calling and digital ads around your state’s official data and deadlines. Talk through your final-week plan with us