Are you worrying/ freaking out about the 2024 election? Do you want to do something about it — but aren’t able to make phone calls or knock on doors?

Consider writing postcards! (Yes, it works, there’s research and everything.) You can do it on your own timetable, at your own pace. You can bank your time — you can start writing postcards weeks or even months before an election. You can start now if you like! And best of all from my perspective, you don’t have to talk to anyone.

(Note: You can also get out the vote by texting,. That’s not what this post is about, I’m a postcard lady, but lots of people like text banking, it’s a good option if postcards don’t work for you.)

I’ve been writing GOTV postcards since 2018, using a few different organizations. They’re all very much geared towards Democrats and progressive causes. Note that with all of these, you’ll have to supply your own stamps and (usually) your own postcards. And you might need to send them a sample postcard to get approved as a writer. Once you’re approved though, you’re set — they’ll give you instructions, a list of addresses, and a script.

Postcards to Voters
https://postcardstovoters.org/

This organization is my go-to. They do a lot of special and local elections as well as the bigger national races. The downside: The process of getting addresses can be a little fiddly. Email [email protected] to get addresses — their texting system is temporarily disabled. You can also contact them with Slack if you use that.

Activate America
https://www.activateamerica.vote/postcards

This is a good one to use right now. They’re doing postcard campaigns for several states, so you can pick the one you care about. And they’re easy to get addresses from. Downside: Their scripts are often a little long. You may need to get postcards with a fully blank back (instead of a normal postcard with a picture on one entire side and the back for both the message and the address). Here’s an example of what I mean:
https://www.amazon.com/100-Bulk-Voter-Postcards-4×6/dp/B08GDXYL8C/

Postcards to Swing States
https://www.turnoutpac.org/postcards/

I use this organization a lot when we host postcard parties. The scripts are usually short, and the addresses come in a format that’s easy to print and read. And they sometimes supply their own postcards! Downside: They aren’t doing any postcard campaigns right now. They won’t start until May. UPDATE: They’re now doing campaigns! And as of this update (April 25 2024), they’re supplying postcards as well as addresses and scripts. Go ahead and place your order!

There’s one more organization I haven’t used but have heard very good things about:

Reclaim Our Vote/Center for Common Ground
https://www.centerforcommonground.org/postcarding

This org is specifically focused on getting out the vote for people of color. The only reason I don’t use them is they want you to print out addresses on Avery labels, and we’re not set up to do that (janky printer).

I’ll write more later about how to host postcard parties — they’re a really fun way to expand your GOTV reach.  But if you want to get out the vote this year, on your own timetable, you can start right now!