2026 Midterm Campaign Printing Checklist: What to Order Before Election Day

Election Day for the 2026 midterms is Tuesday, November 3, and every campaign is working from the same short list: what still has to be printed, what can still arrive in time, and what should have been ordered weeks ago. This midterm campaign printing checklist sorts materials by how fast they can be produced, so the last days go to the pieces that will actually reach voters. If you are planning for a primary, a special election, or a runoff, the same order of operations applies.

Start With the In-Hand Date, Not the Wish List

Every print job runs on two clocks: production time and shipping time. A piece that takes five business days to produce and a few more to ship cannot help a campaign whose last doorknock is in four days. Before choosing products, write down the date each piece has to be in a volunteer's hands and work backward from it. Anything that misses that date is not worth ordering, however good the design looks.

What to Order First: Items That Ship Fast

Campaign buttons

Buttons are the quickest high-visibility item on most campaign lists. Dr. Don's Print Lab reports that most campaign button orders ship the same or next day, with an online proof back within a few hours. Choose a size, upload your artwork or start from a template, and approve the proof promptly, because a slow approval is the easiest way to lose a shipping day.

Palm cards and door hangers

Volunteers need something to leave behind at every door. Palm cards work when a canvasser is talking with a voter, and door hangers cover the doors where nobody answers. Our guide to political palm cards covers sizes, what goes on each side, and how many to order. For door hangers, the site lists 4 by 11 inch templates with a $20 layout fee per template, which is the quickest route when you do not have print-ready artwork.

Not sure whether a specific piece can still make your date? Call Dr. Don's Print Lab at 1-800-243-8293, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. MST, or reach the team through the contact page before you place the order.

What Probably Cannot Be Ordered Now

Some pieces need more lead time than a final-week order allows. Yard signs are the clearest example: the 18 by 24 inch yard signs at Dr. Don's list five business days of production, with stakes and ground shipping included, so an order placed this week will not reach the field before the polls close. Direct mail has the same problem, because a mailer has to be printed, addressed, and carried through the postal system before it lands in a mailbox. In the final week, put that budget toward the fast items above and treat signs and mailers as the first orders for the next race.

A Midterm Campaign Printing Checklist for the Final Week

Run through these before you approve any order:

• Confirm the in-hand date for every piece and cut anything that cannot make it.
• Check the candidate's name, office, and election date against the ballot wording and the official election office.
• Look at the paid-for disclaimer on every piece that needs one.
• Request the union bug when you place the order if a union has endorsed the campaign.
• Order enough for early voting sites, volunteer shifts, and the get-out-the-vote weekend, plus a small reserve.
• Name one person to approve proofs so nothing sits in an inbox.
• Ask about the shipping method and the order cutoff time before checkout.

Where the Printed Pieces Go in the Last Week

Printing is only half the job. Buttons and stickers go to volunteers and supporters who will wear them to early voting sites and rallies. Palm cards and door hangers go to canvass and phone bank shifts, packed by turf so no volunteer starts a shift short. Before anyone heads to a polling place, check the electioneering rules for your state. Many states restrict campaign materials within a set distance of the polls, and in some states that includes buttons and clothing. The distance and the rules differ from state to state, so give each volunteer lead a one-page printed rule sheet and nobody has to guess.

Disclaimers and Union Bugs

Federal rules require a paid-for disclaimer on most printed campaign communications. The Federal Election Commission says the disclaimer on a printed piece must sit in a box set apart from the other content, in readable type with strong color contrast, and describes black 12-point text on a white background as one way to meet that standard for pieces up to 24 by 36 inches. The same page lists small items such as buttons, pins, and bumper stickers as exceptions because a disclaimer cannot conveniently be printed on them. State and local races follow their own rules, so confirm the wording with the election office handling your race. The campaign is responsible for supplying the correct text.

If a union has endorsed your candidate, the union bug shows the piece was produced in a union shop, and Dr. Don's Print Lab adds it to buttons and yard signs at no extra charge when you request it with the order. Our explainer on what a union bug is covers when it is required.

Plan the Next Round Now

Many campaigns face another race within months, whether a runoff, a special election, or the next cycle. Once November 3 passes, write down which pieces ran short, which proofs took the longest, and which items volunteers actually used. Then build the next order schedule backward from the election date, with the slowest products first, typically signs, banners, and mail. Cards and door hangers come next, and buttons and stickers go last.

Get Your Campaign Materials Printed Right

Dr. Don's Print Lab has printed campaign materials for more than 30 years, and every piece is union printed in the USA. Browse the full range of political campaign items, or call before you order if the calendar is tight, so the team can confirm what can still make your date.