Four years ago, the Illinois General Assembly passed Permanent Vote by Mail, or VBM. I cringed — not because of fears over fraud, ballot harvesting or cheating, but because I knew Republicans had been conditioned to reject voting by mail.
That might not matter much in a presidential election, when most motivated voters show up, no matter what. But in lower-turnout contests — such as midterms and especially consolidated local elections — Democrats have a massive advantage because they’ve built a reliable VBM voter base.
Last Tuesday, my worst fears came true: Republicans lost seats they’ve held for decades. If you hold any influence in the Illinois Republican Party, now is the time to act. We must start promoting voting by mail to our base — because if we don’t, the Illinois GOP risks near extinction.
I’ve seen this problem coming for over a decade. Back in 2012, after a rough night for Republicans, I remember someone at a watch party saying we’d need at least a 1,000-vote lead before the clerk dropped the vote-by-mail results. That stunned me. Fewer people voted by mail back then, but we had already accepted defeat in that category. I made a decision that night: I would learn the VBM rules and never be a helpless victim of the process again.
In 2013, I helped organize VBM operations for two dozen candidates in consolidated elections — and we won big. Many races flipped after the late-arriving VBM ballots were counted. It can work. Republicans can win with VBM.
In 2014, I applied the same strategy to my own race for state representative. In a three-way contest, I took 57% of the vote. In my 2018 general election, with no support from the statewide mail-in program, I built my own last-minute effort targeting low-propensity voters. While other suburban Republicans were getting crushed in late VBM returns 75% to 25%, I held my margin to just 54% to 46%. I won that race by just over 500 votes.
Then came 2020. President Donald Trump told Republicans not to vote by mail. Combine that with high presidential-year turnout, and I scaled back my VBM strategy and hoped for good weather. Ten days out, I checked the forecast: dry and upper 50s. I thought, “Maybe I’ve got a shot.” On Election Day, it was calm and sunny — a Chicagoland November miracle. If it had been a typical cold, wet November day, I might have lost.
But hope is not a strategy.
If you believe in personal freedom, lower taxes, safe streets and better schools, it’s time to face reality. Republican voters must embrace voting by mail — not because we love the system, but because we can’t change the rules unless we win elections. And we won’t win enough elections unless we play by the current rules and compete in every part of the process.
We don’t have to like it. But we do have to win.
Mark Batinick served in the Illinois General Assembly from 2015 to 2023, representing the 97th District. He was the Illinois House Republican floor leader from 2019 to 2023. He works in political consulting and polling with M3 Strategies.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.