# Would a handwritten postcard make you more likely to vote? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 27, 2024, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794 "2024-09-27T12:06:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794/61 "2024-09-28T16:19:14Z")
> [@chela](#): > > I highly doubt any trumpet is writing love notes to the electorate. If I got one for H/W I’d be tickled blue. Once again, these postcards have nothing on them to indicate party or candidate, and the note that is written on them is apolitical. Basically it says “Dear John, Thank you for being a voter. Your family and friends may need a reminder to vote. Please remind them to vote in the election on Tuesday, November 5th, 2024.” ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2024, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794/62 "2024-09-28T16:20:30Z")
Thanks I trust the Dems would follow the script. Trumpies nah ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2024, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794/63 "2024-09-28T20:03:54Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > I would guess that the SDMB isn’t representative of the people who get these postcards. It seems like most people here are politically engaged and will vote no matter what. Well, those of us who post in Politics & Elections, anyway. I’m pretty sure there are Dopers who never go near this category. Of course, that also means that they’re not posting in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2024, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794/64 "2024-09-28T20:41:57Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > > [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > > > Some people freak out, insist the postcard was machine-generated despite being shown evidence to the contrary, show it to their town clerk, and come to the conclusion that it is an “improper mailing concept”. > > Thanks for the cite. That was one of the unintentionally wackiest threads I’ve read in years. I’d also missed it four years ago. Most interesting to me was the end of the thread with a convo between @Reply and @Temporary_Name . They almost sounded like bots. And nobody else was paying attention any more. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2024, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794/65 "2024-09-28T23:24:52Z")
Well, that was a blast from the past! Has it been four years already? Must be, if they’re sending out postcards again. I’m not a bot (as far as I know), but I sure did kill that thread 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2024, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794/66 "2024-09-28T23:48:30Z")
Sorry! ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2024, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794/67 "2024-09-28T23:57:12Z")
No apologies needed 🙂 If there was some operation to turn me into a bot, I’d probably accept it (but maybe turn down the preachiness setting a notch). So you weren’t far off! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2024, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794/68 "2024-09-30T20:35:36Z")
I hope nobody sent this guy a postcard. > **[Farmington Hills man, 61, accused of threatening postal carrier over Kamala...](https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2024/09/30/postal-worker-campaign-mailer-harris-michigan/75448616007/)** > > Prosecutors are increasingly using the charges to fight what often are called a hate crimes. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2024, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794/69 "2024-09-30T23:09:34Z")
I’m registered Democrat. I vote in every election, off years included. I just got a Harris/Walz postcard with a handwritten note – reminding me to vote for the proposition on the back of the ballot. (It’s an equal-rights thing including, among some generally accepted stuff which I think is already in the state constitution, gender identity and “reproductive healthcare and autonomy”.) I expect there may be people who show up every time but who don’t think, despite the signs at the polling places, to look at the back of their ballots; which is where NY generally puts propositions. In which case it would make sense to target reliable Democratic voters with such postcards; though I didn’t need to be reminded. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2024, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794/70 "2024-10-16T16:37:42Z")
Our postcards went in the mail yesterday. My wife ran into a few other ladies at the post office who were also dropping off their postcards, and the guy behind the counter told her there had been a steady stream all day. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794/71 "2024-10-16T16:42:50Z")
To directly answer the question, i think anything that reminded me i hadn’t yet voted would be marginally likely to push me to do that. And i at least glance at every hand -written correspondence i get. So yes, by some tiny fraction. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794/72 "2024-10-31T21:42:51Z")
The NYC division of the Harris postcard army is sending out so many postcards that the city is running out of stamps: > **[There’s a Postcard Stamp Shortage in NYC — and Kamala Harris Is the...](https://www.thecity.nyc/2024/10/31/postage-stamp-shortage-kamala-harris-voting-election/)** > > The stamps have repeatedly sold out at post offices across the city as Democrats in the deep blue metropolis try to persuade swing state voters. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794/73 "2024-10-31T21:53:31Z")
Meanwhile, some people are getting intimidating postcards. [![](https://preview.redd.it/got-this-lovely-card-in-the-mail-today-everyone-v0-rf32jyrp3zxd1.jpeg?auto=webp&s=595cf439f605565fb60d6bf70d2269d84695f7df) ](https://preview.redd.it/got-this-lovely-card-in-the-mail-today-everyone-v0-rf32jyrp3zxd1.jpeg?auto=webp&s=595cf439f605565fb60d6bf70d2269d84695f7df) This one, IMO, seems backwards. I’d be a lot more inclined to vote for Harris if I’m told Trump is going to punish me if he wins. [![](https://www.kxan.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2024/10/SMPD-Facebook-Post-Picture.jpg?resize=1536,745) ](https://www.kxan.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2024/10/SMPD-Facebook-Post-Picture.jpg?resize=1536,745) [https://www.kxan.com/news/local/san-marcos/san-marcos-police-investigating-flyers-threatening-kamala-harris-supporters/](https://www.kxan.com/news/local/san-marcos/san-marcos-police-investigating-flyers-threatening-kamala-harris-supporters/) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794/74 "2024-10-31T22:15:21Z")
I signed up to send them out for the National Education Association. I think I was writing to other NEA members who were targeted as intermittent voters, but I’m not sure. The postcards were prestamped and preaddressed, so I just wrote the message (basically, “I’m voting up and down the ballot for candidates who support public education,” yadda yadda) and popped them in the mail. I wish they’d focused on North Carolina, because hoo boy do I have things to say about our Republican superintendent candidate (she could be a Batman villain if she wasn’t all talk). But I got cards for Georgia and Nevada. And they only sent me 23 cards. My wife has done hundreds of cards. I think they’re important. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794/75 "2024-10-31T23:20:07Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > some people are getting intimidating postcards. I’d be inclined to reply to that first one “Great! I could use the help!” And I agree – that second one is a real good reason to _not_ elect Trump. Not that “The Grand Dragon of Trump Klan” of wherever is going to like me, whether he wins or he loses; but he’ll be a lot less powerful if he loses. I would almost wonder if that second one in particular isn’t put out by somebody opposed to Trump who isn’t thinking clearly (as opposed to somebody favoring Trump who is by definition not thinking clearly.) ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2024, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794/76 "2024-11-01T00:25:07Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I wish they’d focused on North Carolina, because hoo boy do I have things to say about our Republican superintendent candidate (she could be a Batman villain if she wasn’t all talk). But I got cards for Georgia and Nevada. And they only sent me 23 cards. I signed up with a progressive turnout organization, and sent 200 postcards to NC registered voters. Last batch went out last night, which I hope is in time. I’ve been sick, and didn’t want to mail my virii to voters. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2024, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794/77 "2024-11-01T02:53:26Z")
Mine either! I got a package with 200 postcards, a list of addresses, and two rolls of stamps from a woman on another website who had signed up, but has recently had some major health issues and couldn’t do it. I offered to reimburse her for the shipping (she’d been reimbursed for the postage) but she said I didn’t have to. It took a week to get them all filled out, but I did, and got them mailed out. I signed them with my first name, and put random stickers, most of them related to “Hello Kitty” because I already had them, on the postcards. If nothing else, it could be a morale boost. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-handwritten-postcard-make-you-more-likely-to-vote/1007794.md?page=3)