• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, October 28, 2020

To say there is a lot at stake in the upcoming presidential election is an understatement isn’t it? 

Let’s be honest: Trump is no less a psychopath than Darth Vader and will trample on what’s left of our democracy if re-elected. So he needs to be crushed at the polls. 

And we need massive participation this year because winning the election by a couple of million votes doesn’t ensure victory, thanks to the Electoral College. 

The pandemic isn’t making things any easier when it comes to voting, either. 

That’s where Vancouver, WA-based agency AHA is stepping up with a big social-media campaign encouraging people, especially younger ones—who tend to vote less than older population segments — to vote by mail. 

That option isn’t cut and dried. Different states have different deadlines for postmarking and receiving mail-in ballots in order to be counted. 

The AHA social campaign, which launched a few weeks ago, is called "The Ballot Bunch" and is ramping up with a planned 100 pieces of content spread across Twitter, Instagram and other venues. The social posts offer information, quirky voting stories, appearances in pop-culture, trending conversations and the unexpected places where potential voters can be found. 

The agency also created a place online where clients, partners and others can pick up content to use themselves.

“In the Pacific Northwest, we’ve voted exclusively by mail for nearly two decades — so we know a thing or two about the topic,” the agency states on the site. “We created The Ballot Bunch to inform and engage young voters with the facts. Help get the word out by using one of the posts below or by sharing directly from @TheBallotBunch on Instagram or Twitter.”

Original work will continue to post through Election Day as AHA’s social-media team monitors key channels for opportunities to post and share content.