Campaign mailers may arrive too late

Erin Neff

Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2002 | 11:10 a.m.

In a traditional campaign this would be negative week -- the days late enough in a campaign to strike an opponent without fearing a response in time for the election.

And while mailers are making postal carriers' bags heavy this week, they may not be weighing on too many voters' minds.

Political consultants say the two-week early voting period, which ends Friday, has tremendously altered the political landscape even if some candidates, still running traditional campaigns, have missed 30,000-plus voters with their message.

"Election Day is Aug. 17, not Sept. 3," State Democratic Party Chairman Terry Care said. "I voted the first day of early voting, Aug. 17, and everything that comes to my house now is wasted postage."

Care said that since more than 50 percent of voters will cast ballots before the Sept. 3 primary, it only makes sense for candidates to get their message out before early voting begins.

But the negative pieces still started showing up late last week with campaigns bracing for more by Saturday -- the last mail delivery day before next Tuesday's primary.

Mike Sullivan, owner of Paladin Advertising, said he advises his candidates to use roughly half of their advertising campaign before early voting and half after.

"You still have to pay attention to the people who vote Sept. 3," Sullivan said.

Clark County Republican Chairman Steve Wark said negative mailers or compare-and-contrast pieces traditionally were designed to "move people off the fence one way or another."

And, he said, since most people who vote early have also made up their minds early, there is still some room for candidates to convince undecided voters in the last 14 days of a campaign.

"The most effective mail will still be sent out before early voting starts," Wark said.

Lindsey Jydstrup, who runs the Democratic Assembly Caucus, said many legislative candidates are struggling with the timing issue.

"If you sent to early voters, it's been a while since the traditional voters have heard from you when they go to the polls," Jydstrup said. "It's important to pace your mail out."

Francis Allen, a Republican running for the new Assembly District 37 in northwest Las Vegas, has tried to do just that by spacing six different mailers over the course of the past several weeks.

"Early voting is not something to be ignored," Allen said.

Pacing the mail is made more difficult by Clark County's growth. Bulk political mail that used to arrive overnight now could take two or three days to reach a voter's home.

When you add Labor Day to the mix, the day before the election, candidates without the resources for multiple mailings are gambling with the calendar.

Merle Lok, a candidate for Family Court, planned two mailers -- one for early voters and one for traditional voters. Her early voter mailer, while it did arrive during early voting, came late in the first week after more than 16,000 people cast ballots.

"Some other candidates who have more money are able to do more," Lok said.

Money is the biggest concern for most candidates. Candidates who are trailing are more likely to spend their money on a negative piece that could cut into their opponent's advantage.

That's where the third-party interests, political action committees, still come into play.

In the past week several PACs have sent out negative mailers exposing things about candidates in individual races -- usually without mentioning the candidate who stands to benefit from the mail.

"Early voting has definitely benefited candidates with money, or candidates who can get support from these third parties," Sullivan said.