And because such an overwhelming proportion of the country has hardened opinions of the candidates, making persuasion difficult and a drain on precious resources, the focus for the presidential campaigns and their allies — especially among Democrats, for whom the narrow but decisive margins of 2016 weigh heavily on the mind — boosting turnout is, increasingly, the primary goal.
“Everybody in America knows who Donald Trump is and who Joe Biden is, and they probably have an opinion and they probably know who they’re going to vote for,” said Progressive Turnout Project executive director Alex Morgan. “And it really does come down to the mobilization and turning out our voters again, regardless of the tactic, because we can feel really confident and come up short by 10,000 votes in Michigan and 30,000 votes in Wisconsin and 50,000 votes in Pennsylvania.”
Morgan, whose group had been among those most deeply committed to door-to-door campaigning, has pivoted entirely to remote tactics ahead of November. PTP has pledged that its staff and volunteers will make 55 million phone calls into 18 states — during which they’ll offer to walk voters, step by step, through their local pandemic voting options — and mail 500,000 handwritten letters by Election Day.
The group is also paying particular attention to down-ballot Democratic campaigns, from the Senate in contested states to local legislative contests. Those candidates, especially the lesser known challengers, are likely to suffer more from the absence of in-person canvassers.
“That’s where education, regardless of whether you’re running a persuasion or a turnout program, is really important,” Morgan said. The PTP and other liberal organizations are partnering to compile and disseminate bespoke voter guides, which might get hung on a door knob, no face-to-face contact required, emailed or delivered by snail mail.
“We’re still leaving it all on the field,” Morgan said, “although via different tactics.”
