Make Money Mondays: Big Returns from Election Returns
With a presidential Election Day less than 24-hours away, the entire country is on edge, awaiting results. But it’s not just the inside-the-Beltway crowd here in my area who will be impacted by the outcome. The election will have repercussions for most of your clients and prospective clients, whether individuals, small businesses, non-profits or public entities. And you can generate business returns from election returns by being first to market — be it through your blog, podcast, social media or a webinar — with explanations of what the election results mean and what happens next.
Presidential Elections – What’s most interesting about this year’s presidential elections isn’t so much the changes, but more immediately, when we will actually learn the outcome. With an increase in mail-in ballots due to coronavirus and a crazy-quilt of different state laws governing the timing of counting, we may not know the winner for several days. In this situation, consumers and clients may be seeking legal insight on how the process is supposed to work – and as lawyers, we’re uniquely positioned to comment.
Legislative Races – Congress and state and local legislative bodies across the county may wind up with a new political party in power, which in turn can influence policy. Consumers and businesses will want to know what kinds of new laws to expect and how those new laws impact their planning. Here, you might want to set up a quick series, which some general predictions shortly on the heels of the election, followed by a webinar or personal invitation to meet with existing or potential clients once the election dust settles.
Referendums In contrast to presidential and legislative races where impacts aren’t always immediately known the effect or referendums are clear once votes are counted. There are plenty of referendums on state ballots this year that may have repercussions for clients – from Califonia’s gig economy referendum that would exclude companies like Uber and Lyft from a recent law that would classify drivers as employees – to a Georgia referendum that would eliminate sovereign immunity to a bunch of municipal proposals nationally dealing with police reforms. You’ll want to circulate word of these referendum results to affected clients immediately and think about booking podcast interviews or hosting a webinar for clients to hash through repercussions.
Judges In some parts like my home state of Maryland, judicial elections don’t garner much attention because judges are appointed and only required to run once to keep their seats. But that needs to change. As a recent Chicago Tribune article reports, there are some judges on the bench who don’t deserve to be there though most folks would need to spend a fair amount of time to figure that out. Here too, lawyers play a unique role and can assist the public in discharging their civic obligation to vote for judges by sharing their experiences and opinions about the candidates.
No matter the outcome tomorrow, everyone in our nation will be affected in some way. They will look to the media, the talking heads and analysts – and also to their lawyers for guidance. Are you ready?