POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: The new ballot campaign normal
View in browser BY LISA KASHINSKY THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’ — The permanent expansion of mail-in and early in-person voting is upending the campaign calendar, and not just for the candidates. Ballot question campaigns are shifting their strategies to account for the fact that people are starting to vote, well, now. Just under 20 percent of registered voters, 963,147, had requested mail-in ballots as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, according to the secretary of state’s office. More than 53,000 ballots have been mailed out by local clerks, and the secretary of state’s office said the first bulk mailing should be sent out by early next week. Let's look at Question 1: The ballot committee backing the Fair Share Amendment started knocking doors in May and airing ads in mid-August. Fair Share for Massachusetts launched its $10 million general-election ad campaign before the primary "because we know many voters will vote in October," spokesperson Andrew Farnitano...