(NEXSTAR) — Election season is upon us once again, and with it: a plethora of campaign yard signs and TV ads, political text messages, and fliers of varying sizes stuffed in your mailbox.
You can overlook the yard placards, mute the commercials, and stop the texts (at least most of them), but can you do anything about the handful of campaign mailers filling your mailbox?
It’s not a far-fetched question, considering you can stop other forms of junk mail.
The Federal Trade Commission says you can decide what types you would like to receive from marketers by registering with the Direct Marketing Association. That organization warns, however, that it does not apply when it comes to mail from political organizations.
The U.S. Postal Service has no guidance, either. It did, however, recently report that the volume of political mail increased between the 2018 and 2022 midterms, from 2.9 billion pieces to 3.9 billion pieces. With it, political mail spending rose from $575 million to $826 million over the same time period.
The USPS predicts the current election cycle will be even bigger.
“The truth is, regardless of how digitally focused society becomes, Political Mail works exceptionally well in raising awareness about candidates, persuading on public policy issues and motivating voters to vote — and does so with high credibility, reach and targeting. This is why spending on Political Mail is expected to rise again in 2024 and remain a vital part of any successful campaign communication strategy,” the USPS said in a recent article in The Eagle magazine, which is dedicated to postal employees.
Data from the USPS shows why campaigns may not want to give up on sending the fliers. Across surveyed voters, 57% said they felt direct mail was harder to ignore than ads online or on TV; 68% said they felt less overwhelmed by direct mail than other political advertisements; 55% said they viewed direct mail as a more memorable form of political advertising; and 56% said they felt they received the amount of campaign mail pieces they received during the last cycle was “just right.”
They can also help to highlight the candidate, Dr. Patricia Crouse, a professor of Public Administration and Political Science at the University of New Haven, told Nexstar.
While campaigns may be required to follow certain guidelines when it comes to sending you a flyer in the mail, there is no rule prohibiting it. According to the Georgia Secretary of State, “political campaigns and candidates have a legal right to free speech, which includes being able to contact you.”
That doesn’t mean you’re stuck receiving political mailers until November 6.
There are a couple of methods voters have found to stop, or at least slow, the flow of campaign mailers.
One is to vote early, a campaign strategist told the Los Angeles Times in 2022. This may not, however, kick in right away. A county will have to update its voter list, and the mailing list vendor has to receive said update.
Another campaign advisor recommended reaching out to the campaign itself to have your name removed from their list.
Campaigns contacted by Nexstar regarding this process did not immediately respond or declined to provide a comment.