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Set up an email autoresponse

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It’s hard to keep up with email during a busy day. One way to manage the flow is to set up an automated response on your main public email. 

You can use an out-of-office message feature to reply to every message you receive. (Or ask your technical support team if there’s another method on your system.) You’ll still get the emails while the server sends an instant reply with answers to voters’ top questions. 

Best of all, you can easily adjust the message – every day if you want – to add the latest information, change the information as deadlines pass, or respond to items in the news.  

We’ve put together some text, ready for you to customize, including alternative messages to use as deadlines pass. Download the Microsoft Word file to get started. 

The text should be short and focus on getting voters to the most important information, that day. For example, information about voter registration might say:

[October ##] is the last day to register to vote in the November 3 election.     – OR – You can still register at an early voting center or polling place until the end of Election Day, November 3.  – OR – Registration for the November 3, 2020 election ended on [October ##.] Be ready to vote in the next election and register to vote early.

To make your auto-response effective:

• Reassure the voter that their email will be answered as quickly as you can.
• Start with any recent changes – like new drop boxes, early voting hours, court-ordered changes – at the top, along with any information related to current issues in the news 
• Don’t provide too much detail. This isn’t everything on a topic, but the most basic information for the time in the election cycle.
• Link to information pages, but make sure that it’s clear where they can find the form or personalized look-up to take action.
• Spell out shortlinks if you have them so they are easy to read and remember.