- . . . and the least secure place to put your vote to the extent it involves absentee vote by mail
- A priority push for it by RNC will cost extra millions to pay chasers because volunteers are not likely to repeatedly hector people to “bank their vote” and do the necessary follow-up
- A basic question is left unanswered — why vote early ? “So we can bank it” is not an answer to why “banking” the vote of people who will vote anyway is key to anything or a wise resource allocation.
- After spending a lot to get people to vote early, is that all that are going to vote? That seems to be the plan.
- The RNC bank-the-vote goal confuses and emphasizes process over results and misapplies resources to do so
- If that “every Republican vote early” is the goal who is voting on Election Day — how are those people to be influenced to vote the right way?
- Those people who are apparently concerned enough to show up on Election Day are they too stupid to vote early and have their vote sitting around?
- So what will influence them and isn’t that key to winning as it will produce the most votes across the board . . . or is the plan to leave room for the message to be corrupted to induce them to vote having “banked” the earlier voters with a different message, perhaps a contradictory one?
- Under Chairman McDaniel’s rubric is there any need for an Election Day or is that just the last day of early voting?
- What would have happened in 2020 had news of Hunter Biden’s laptop come out before so much early voting was completed? That is one important reason why voting early is not a safe good-government process
- Also responding to — it can’t hurt and we have to do what Democrats do
It is our contention that “vote banking” the preferred term now used by RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel for ballot harvesting /ballot chasing / vote now before-you-die-or-forget-what-day-it-is-or-a-Democrat-gets-to-you hectoring — will not be a good bang for the buck and is likely to walk on effective messaging.
Sowing seeds through good messaging, early messaging, and authentic performance of party and elected officials will produce a more ample and sustainable crop rather than concentrating resources on picking low hanging fruit of people likely to vote on their own volition or devoting earned and paid media time and space to the mechanics of voting and telling people the falsity that they won’t receive anymore calls or door knocks or mail. Spend the resources inoculating and motivating broader reaches of voters.
A lot of fruit, from typically hard to reach branches could be brought to harvest, plumped by sunlight of truthful but aggressive messaging such that it will virtually fall into the harvest basket in due course is forgone when time and resources are spent hectoring Republicans to vote early in Chairman McDaniel’s preferred way everywhere.
OK we may be straining the harvest analogy so let’s talk practical responses to the RNC chairwoman’s statements. Here are excerpts from her statements in an article posted at Townhall and that of hers posted on a special RNC website she devotes to the matter. At this writing there was not further information available on the website. The numbers in parentheses are there to protect the flow of Chairman McDaniel’s discourse and refer to Chairwoman McDaniel’s preceding statement and to our similarly numbered response set forth later.
Bank Your Vote is a nationwide campaign focused on maximizing pre-Election Day voting. The fact of the matter is that we no longer have just “Election Day” – we have election seasons, with many states opening their polls for weeks. (1) Republicans saw success in 2022 with absentee voting, early in-person voting, and ballot harvesting. (2) Now, as we work to protect the House, flip the Senate, and win back the White House in 2024, we are doubling down and making the Bank Your Vote campaign our number one priority (3). Republicans continue to oppose bad laws in the courtroom, but we’ll also play by the rules we’re given. We’re turning the full power of our unmatched political ground game, data operation, legal resources, and messaging apparatus towards Banking Your Vote(4) to chase down every ballot. Not only will we ballot harvest where it’s legal, but we’ll beat the Democrats at their own game.
The RNC’s digital and data team will strategically target voters who will give us the highest return and run up the score.(5) Moving towards the 2024 election, the RNC will partner with state parties to create pages outlining pre-Election Day voting processes for all 56 states and territories with links to state government sites where voters can request their ballot directly. The RNC’s field operation, which has made over 300 million door knocks and phone calls over the last two election cycles,(6) will go neighbor-to-neighbor and town-to-town to mobilize Republicans nationwide. (7) Meanwhile, our election integrity operation will continue to protect the vote by leveraging tens of thousands of poll watchers and poll workers, maximizing and expanding the number of in-person voting locations, (8) and continuing to fight Democrats in the courts. We will have staff and lawyers on the ground to fully ensure voter confidence; every branch of the RNC will be working in tandem to make sure that early votes make it into the ballot box with total security and integrity. (9)
While this effort is RNC-led, we’ll be working closely with our partners in the Republican ecosystem: we’ll only beat Biden if we’re all working together (10). . .
Above all, this will be a grassroots-powered effort. (11) Not even a perfect strategy can work if it isn’t driven by patriots coast-to-coast who believe in our Republican message and understand that our nation’s future is on the line. . . . Righting these wrongs and getting back on course will take all of us working together. And it will require Republicans voting early in person, voting absentee, (11) and ballot harvesting where legal to drive up our numbers at the polls.
So we visited the website Chairwoman McDaniel promotes BankYourVote.com. Her statement there is available on YouTube as well. We have placed the YouTube provided transcript the imbedded video. No punctuation is provided in their transcripts so we did our best to provide it from the flow of the video presentation. Again, numbers refer to statements we will respond to. Assume clerical errors are ours.
Hi I’m Ronna McDaniel chairwoman of the Republican National Committee
In 2022 we laid the groundwork for this critical election cycle by running the largest ever election Integrity operation across the country over 80 000 Republicans served as poll watchers and poll workers. (12)
Our work to protect the vote will be supercharged in 2024 with an even larger team of Grassroots leaders and more key lawsuits. (13)
The RNC is laser focused on beating Joe Biden and far left Democrats next November and in addition to protecting the vote we need you to bank your vote.
To win close elections we need to close the gap on pre-election day voting. (14) That’s why we’re launching the bank your vote initiative.
Bank your vote encourages educates and activates Republican voters on when where and how to cast their ballot before election day. (15)
We make great strides in getting Republicans to cast their results before election day in 2022 but now we must encourage more of our voters to request ballots or vote early in person and we can’t do that without you. (16
Please spread the word about bankyourvote.com to your friends and family tell them to go to the site and find out when where and how to get their vote banked and make 100% sure their voice is heard again. . . . (17). That is bankyourvote.com
If we don’t vote early we’re giving the Democrats a head start but when Republicans vote early we win (18) and in 2024 we are going to hold the House win back the Senate and take the White House. God bless you and God bless the United States of America.
VeritasPAC responds:
(1) True, it is no longer election day but election season — but pushing more vote by mail necessitates a counting season and accompanying issues with that, including finality. Voting by mail is rejected by most other countries because it is the most vulnerable to fraud and not in keeping with good government precepts of voting when the campaigning and debates are over, each side has said its peace. The integrity of the vote in absentee voting by mail is devoid of poll watchers and more subject to coercion — in ones or twos or en mass.
We do not object to voting in person at absentee locations set up for voting a few days prior to Election Day or traditional restricted absentee vote by mail for bonified reason no earlier than a week or perhaps ten days prior to Election Day.
Voting in person is the best way to insure that the vote is private, uncoerced, and the voter is a valid voter. Emphasizing vote by mail which the RNC is now doing will only expand problems of verification of signatures, chain of custody, and aggravate ability to monitor the integrity of the election. It is made to order for unscrupulous Democrats or any GOTV activity of either party incentivized by head counts of harvested or “banked” votes.
Our view is that a generalized program of pushing early vote by mail in order to allow harvesting only creates an aura of cheat to win (even though Republicans are not as likely to, the harvesting incentives for Democrats are made more compelling), makes audits ever more difficult, impacts privacy, and objectively is not a good-government process to hector people to vote prior to debates and late expose’s which may properly impact the election. Very few countries allow early vote by mail because it is the least safe, breeds corruption and erodes confidence in the process as an honest reflection of voter sentiment.
(2) No examples are offered by Chairwoman McDaniels but champions of the ballot harvesting boondoggle sometimes refer to two House races in Southern California where we are told Republican ballot harvesting of a sort took place — the 2022 races of Michelle Steel and Young Kim. But here’s the thing — Republicans winning in Republican or Republican trending districts is not necessarily earthshaking nor is “harvesting” decisive.
We see that Cook Political Report had Steele’s district leaning Republican at least since October of that year and Young Kim’s district as likely Republican. Steele’s opponent stepped on his appendage with his comments and Kim’s opponent was just not a good fit. Both Steele and Kim were good candidates, incumbents for parts of their districts, did good jobs campaigning and in GOTV so we fail to see how one method of voting was decisive.
(3). The number one priority ought to be the most votes cast forRepublicans not how the vote is cast.
(4) “turning unmatched political ground game, data operation, legal resources, and messaging apparatus towards Banking Your Vote”. Indeed “unmatched” so where was it before? So all that is to be devoted primarily to how one votes rather than increasing votes on the presumption that how one votes brings in more votes? American voting turnout was as great or greater in the 60’s when absentee voting was restricted, transportation availability was arguably worse, we would bet voting precinct locations fewer and early satellite locations rare if in existence at all, job accommodations rare, voting was more a matter of civic pride, lines or not, rather than hectoring.
By the way, how good is a data operation as to cost saving efficiency which in spite of the readily available voting history cannot see someone like yours truly has voted every general election and primary for decades and most municipal and school board races (all on Election Day) and therefor am not a marginal voter — yet I get inundated with wasteful phone calls, direct mail telling me how to vote absentee and that I should vote absentee?
(5) “target voters who will give us the highest return and run up the score” Indeed this sounds like concentrating on low hanging fruit of likely voters making sure they vote early which serves primarily to waste efforts on people who would vote anyway to run up the vote early score which does not necessarily win elections. You really do not have to “strategically” worry about those as opposed to reaching out to those less likely to vote R. Prioritizing resources for devotion to likely R voters to vote early means resources for inoculation and persuasion are reduced and those possible persuadable voters are left to Democrats.
(6) will go neighbor-to-neighbor and town-to-town to mobilize Republicans nationwide. is a lot of repetitive phone calling at less than 1% answer rate NOW TO BE EXPANDED?! and door knocking at 25% to 30% answer rate on a good day and time in suburbia and to little or no avail without good messaging. The little engagement actually experienced at the door or by phone, forgoing motivational messaging for hectoring about voting mechanics is not all that useful or efficient.
(7) That is a lot of walking and it will have to be mostly by paid people, paid in a competitive environment and involves followup and collection and delivery where legal. Republicans do not have the venues for group absentee voting nor the alternatively paid workforce of government employees, NGOs, unions to do the work and be paid by them or who have a direct financial stake in Democrat policies and patronage.
See more of veritasPAC.com comments regarding venues available to Republicans here : Republican Ballot Harvesting – Who is going to do it – Who will submit to it – How will it be effectively done
(8) maximizing and expanding the number of in-person voting locations — using in-person voting locations is the most secure voting process for a variety of reasons — voter ID is checked contemporaneous to the vote, it avoids risks in relying on the mail, the chain of custody is far easier to observe and involves less handling and more reasons. Emphasizing anything but in person voting is anti-Republican interests.
(9) maximizing and expanding the number of in-person voting locations. Now that is a better priority plan and the most secure early voting plan. Any legislative requirements should be pursued vigorously. But pushing vote by mail as early as possible, the main RNC plan, is the antithesis of security and integrity of the vote and against Republican (and good-government) interests as it also enhances acceptance of a voting process less amenable to those proper aims heretofore advocated in Republican platforms.
(10) Republican ecosystem — not sure what Chairman McDaniel means by that but conservative PACs, c-4 and c-3 groups have various restrictions on “being led” (coordination). Further most are not going to give themselves over to the likes of Chairman McDaniel, no offense and however worthy, they have their own missions. But regardless, in our mind it raises the concern that one size does not fit all but also sustains that the attempt to join forces in such an enterprise is just as likely to aggravate duplication and waste, not prevent them.
Vote early if you want but they are still not going to leave you alone
Keep in mind that one of the inducements threats, used to promote early voting is to the effect ~~ if you vote now by mail and let us take it now or comeback real soon you won’t get any more of these “reminder” calls and door knocks~~ we will take you off our list~~.
It is of course a load of bull, and even worse than the bum’s rush, it is browbeating, menacing or bullying and for some anxious people it is coercion or extortion. If you think that is an exaggeration you have not heard some of the communications or experienced the vulnerabilities of some senior citizens and others.
It is bull because the calls and door knocks and mail will not end as long as one member of the household has not voted early, so there is no real money saved in those common situations and accordingly no reduced irritations to that household. And even if the data were maintained well, the whole ‘we know you voted already” thing smacks of big-brotherism. Voting “completions” registered on a timely basis (which depends on county election officials and their standards)results won’t affect non-affiliated organizations (actually most of the political world and their programs of door knocks, phone calling, direct mail, etc., etc. Nor does an early voting program seriously reduce savings as regards broadcast or internet advertising (which may include extortions to vote early), which presumably need to go on for all those persuadable recalcitrants. It is all so phony and wasteful of “face time” and persuadable moments and good mass-messaging.
(11) So the game plan is definitely not limited to having Republicans vote early in person and while early voting in person may not be good citizenship, we accept it is more secure than vote by mail. And fine if it would end with that — let people know where the early vote locations are and most importantly give them reasons to vote Republican. That is a short uncomplicated message tag then to move on. But the impression Chairman McDaniel wants to give is that voting by mail , however many Republicans are already doing it (against interests) is the real banking the vote in terms of a collection agency or something.
Vote by mail ought to be deemphasized for the security and integrity of the vote, as counter good-government, in order to have resources for early inoculation against the Democrat virus (Trump should like that as he was so into the whole vaccination thing) rather than spending face time with the mechanics of voting by mail trying to convince people it is secure and not the devils playground as is the judgement of most of the civilized world. No badgering or extortions such as “so we can leave you alone”.
(12) over 80 000 Republicans served as poll watchers and poll workers. Great but who are they going to watch when there is a concentration on vote by mail? One might respond their job becomes to watch when those ballots come in and are counted. But how many will be knowledgable to judge by engaging in signature verification (where it is actually done) which is needed to insure the integrity of absentee voting? Signature verification is a slow and sophisticated process subject to error. Why push for more dependance on such a process.
(13) and more key lawsuits. Seriously that has to be started now as preemptive measures regarding Democrat policies producing laxity in the integrity of the vote and which have insufficient safeguards to guarantee “one man one vote”. Chairman McDaniel seems to forget lawsuits just before or after an election, no matter how corrupt the election, is not the catbird position.
(14 To win close elections we need to close the gap on pre-election day voting. Again she does not say why expanding Election Day voting would not do the same thing (win more close elections). Does she seriously believe Election Day voting is maxed out or that substituting or marshaling a lot of resources explaining, cajoling, and doing the follow up necessary to increase one mechanism of voting is a substitute for another method of voting that is more secure. It is our position that the extensive resources necessary for a ballot banking/harvesting program is better spent on inoculating early and motivational messaging that persuades people including no-party and Democrat leaners to vote Republican.
(15) Bank your vote encourages educates and activates Republican voters on when where and how to cast their ballot before election day. Republicans are sentient. Indeed likely Republican voters of any former stripe are now sentient. We challenge Chairman McDaniel to show us why an expensive program of cajoling to vote early by mail as opposed to unobtrusively providing simple basic information on voting locations so as not to walk on the persuasive message of the need to vote Republican produces more votes than not having those resources spent toward expanding the Republican vote however they choose to exercise that vote.
(16) We made great strides in getting Republicans to cast their results (sp?) before election day in 2022 but now we must encourage more of our voters to request ballots or vote early in person and we can’t do that without you. Again, the winning comes from having more votes no matter the means, winning is not dependent on early voting or voting by mail. Winning is dependent on the most total votes cast. Now we will admit that when we heard read that last clause — and we can’t do that without you — we fully expected the financial ask — but it didn’t come per se — but it did remind us that not only will the hectoring to vote early not stop after one votes early – the special targeted fundraising and admonitions to get you to now twist the arms of all your friends to vote early will not stop. That may be the bread and butter of political fund raising but it belies any statement regarding vote now and we won’t bother you anymore. The vote early admonitions and fund raising to do so won’t stop no matter how many times you voted 😉
(17). Of course they want you to get in on the hectoring, and you should encourage and persuade friends and family to vote, but as regards voting early, if your friends and family are sentient no need to give them the bums rush. Pass on the literature of where the voting locations are but concentrate on why vote Republican.
(18) If we don’t vote early we’re giving the Democrats a head start but when Republicans vote early we win. Really? Isn’t my vote on Election Day worth the same as an early vote?Why is the rabbit and hare analogy not pertinent — steady course of persuasion (starting steady and early like the turtle) good resource allocation wins the race.
Persuasion fuels races not spinning wheels of volunteers or expensive largely trade-off paid activity pushing early voting. The fundamental goal is more votes not early votes.
Expand in-person voting to satellite centers to accommodate some early voting but not 30 or 40 days for ballot harvesting (that is the minimum Democrats say they need).
Message-less vote-early harangues whether using door-to-door, phone or mail, and devoting such in banner ads, and radio and TV advertising buys are largely wasteful. Use the money that will need to be raised for that to appeal to the majority of people who are largely tired of the woke nonsense — unlimited illegal immigration, — energy DEPENDENCE, — men in women’s sports, — crime and no punishment, — costs of food, fuel and home prices — high taxes — no normalcy, culture being destroyed, sexualizing children — abortion on demand for any reason at any time before birth, — corporations with no allegiance to the US, — one-world government, — failing schools . . . Spend the large amount of money necessary for assertive ballot harvesting programs on better truth telling messaging to be productively reaped because it resists Democrats noxious plants.
