Donald Trump’s outreach to rural voters — considered vital to him winning the election — has been crippled because technology essential to tracking it doesn't function well in remote areas, insiders told The Guardian.
The campaign tracks its ground game operation with software that needs a strong internet service — connectivity that’s extremely unreliable in the remote areas that its core target lives, the report stated.
But reaching them is essential. Rural voters are considered a strong Trump demographic, but one which doesn't reliably turn out on election day.
Instead of the Campaign Sidekick technology — which allows the campaign to track exactly where canvassers are and which doors they’ve knocked — Trump's team has had to rely on an offline version which has no geo-tracking feature.
It’s left operatives doubting if the canvassers are actually doing the job they’re assigned.
“The Trump campaign and America Pac then have little way to know whether canvassers are knocking on doors or whether they are cheating – for instance, by “speed-running” routes where they literally throw campaign materials at doors as they drive past,” the Guardian reported.
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Canvassers are paid by the door and have a financial incentive to do as many as they can quickly.
America Pac has sent out teams to trail the canvassers in an effort to make sure they’re actually doing what they’re asked to, the Guardian reported.
“Maybe Elon Musk can give his canvassers a Starlink,” a political operative joked with the Guardian, referring to Musk’s satelite-based communication technology.
Top Trump team aide Chris LaCivita told the Guardian,“Our canvassing apps work fine, and we’ve invested in new technology this cycle that is unmatched in politics to supplement our efforts. This is a clear hit job from a failed vendor who we’ll be sure to name and shame as soon as we finish winning this campaign.”