Commentary: Tired of Campaign Ads? Blame Early Voting

Weeks-long early voting has turned a single civic moment into a costly, never-ending campaign.

Tired of the year-round campaign ads and the spending that goes with it? Blame never-ending early voting policies.

In many states, early voting has stretched so much that Election Day has become Election Season. That means candidates and political action committees (PACs) spend more money and time chasing voters' attention, and we all pay the price.

If you want to avoid campaign ads, move to Alabama, Mississippi, or New Hampshire. Those are the only states that don't permit no-excuse early voting. The worst states to live in during this election season are Virginia, Minnesota, and South Dakota, which require 45 days of early voting. Vermont started one day later on September 19, and Illinois began early voting on September 24. The five states all began more than five weeks before the general election.

Add primary voting to the calendar, and people in many states must suffer through campaign ads and political signs littering the landscape nearly all year long. After the election, by the time candidates remove their signs, if they do at all, it's time for another election to begin. It's a never-ending cycle.

I don't blame the candidates, except the ones who get elected and then vote for more early voting. Having campaigned and been elected twice, I know first-hand how hard it is to get your name in front of voters, especially at the local level. The avenues for advertising have exploded—texting, digital ads, television commercials, radio spots, mailers, signs, and even mobile billboards. There's likely a point at which the public just tunes them all out or finds ways to avoid them—like paying for ad-free streaming services.

When I first ran for office in 2016, the unwritten rule was not to put up campaign signage before September. Now with 45 days of early voting, signs in my city are up as early as July.

Is it possible that the electorate just gets tired of all the advertising, especially the attack ads, and is dissuaded from voting at all?

Save the Planet and Cut Costs

It's surprising the climate alarmists haven't spoken up about how early voting is harming the planet. Guess what all those corrugated plastic campaign signs are made of—you guessed it—petroleum! After the election, they get dumped straight into the landfill. Where is Greenpeace when you need them?

It's not just the garbage dumps that overflow; so do advertisers' wallets. Early voting is expensive because campaign promotions must be spread out over a longer timeframe.

Federal campaign spending nearly tripled in eight years. Candidates and PACs spent $28 billion on presidential and congressional elections from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2024—and that's even with laws that limit contribution amounts. Contrast those numbers with the 2015–2016 federal election cycles for which $10.3 billion was spent. Those numbers don't include the myriad of state and local races on the ballot.

The amount of money spent on one campaign cycle can fund an entire state for nearly a year. The entire annual budget for the state of Arizona is just over $18 billion.

In 2015, 33 states allowed in-person early voting; by 2026, Ballotpedia reports the number of no-excuse early voting states has swelled to 47, plus the District of Columbia.

It's not only the money spent on campaigns, but also the increased costs for localities to administer the elections. Due to the presence of satellite voting sites and increased ballot mailing, more staffing is required.

Demand Change but Still Vote

Advocates of early voting claim it will increase voter turnout, but that assertion doesn't hold up. In 2016 in Virginia, before no-excuse early voting was enacted, voter turnout was 72 percent. In 2024, with 45 days of early voting in place, the turnout was 70 percent.

The Left pushes early voting because Democrats tend to vote early more than Republicans, but those numbers may be shifting. Republican leaders across the nation, including President Donald Trump, have been encouraging voters to cast their ballots early. While it's not the preferred method for conservatives, the sentiment is to play the game until the rules can be changed. Republicans fear there is more room for mischief and cheating the longer the election drags on.

Cast your ballot, whether on Election Day or during early voting, and then tell your legislators to end the voting "season." Let’s return to a single voting day or at least compromise on a week of early voting. Months-long early voting has costs and consequences that are wearing on every American. The endless campaign ads alone are enough to drive anyone mad.

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