Down Ballot Races

What is voter roll-off? In politics, jargon is everywhere — but some terms are worth understanding. Voter roll-off is one of them. It happens when voters submit incomplete ballots, filling out only the top of the ticket and skipping down-ballot races they know less about. For local candidates, this can be the difference between winning and losing.

Campaigns for local candidates are different than those for bigger races. While you will still have to work to raise money, local candidates will depend in large part on the community for the resources and volunteers that they need. Local candidates also tend to go without the aid of consultants or those with expensive experience working on a lot of campaigns.

A Down-ballot campaign is a great starting place for first-time candidates or folks who want to start working on campaigns. Getting involved in your local or state government is an important and noble task. State and local governments combined spend more than the federal government and some county governments are bigger than state governments.

In the world of politics, there is an array of confusing and random terms that folks use to describe trends. Voter roll-off is one of them. It is a term that is very important for down-ballot races to understand and fight against. More importantly, voter roll-off can make a difference for your GOTV campaign strategy. Find out how!  

I have heard the story many a time; "I am running down ballot in a state-wide primary, so I am only going to do television." Sadly, if you are still using a Television only strategy you may miss many voters you need to reach.