Technology Helps Keep Election Campaigns Alive During Coronavirus
2020-07-02
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1As the novel coronavirus continues to spread in the United States, politicians are increasingly turning to technology to get their message out to voters.
2Public health guidelines for reducing the spread have led to changes in the political campaigns of President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.
3Health officials have appealed to Americans to limit face-to-face contact with others.
4They support calls for social distancing -- keeping space between yourself and other people outside your home.
5With social distancing rules in effect, the presidential election campaigns were faced with an unusual situation.
6They were no longer able to send out organizers and volunteers to connect with likely voters face-to-face.
7It has also not been possible for candidates to hold events that can raise millions of dollars for their campaigns.
8Eric Wilson is a technology expert working for the Republican Party.
9 He directs the Center for Campaign Innovation.
10He told VOA the coronavirus health crisis forced big changes, such as the move to completely "virtual" campaigns.
11"Just like the (coronavirus) disrupted everyone else's daily life - the same is true of our campaigns," Wilson said.
12Tara McGowan is the founder of Acronym, a political organization that supports progressive causes and candidates.
13She agrees that campaign organizers have had to find many new ways to reach the people most likely to support their candidates.
14"You're just seeing a lot more creativity in terms of how and where the campaigns are finding the voters they need to get their message across to," McGowan told VOA.
15Since the start of social distancing orders in March, the Trump campaign has launched a daily talk show on social media.
16The show - which appears on services such as Facebook and YouTube - has different guests each day.
17Some well-known Republicans and members of Trump's family have appeared on the program as guests or presenters.
18During one show, the president's son, Donald Trump, Junior, asked his father questions.
19"That's one of the biggest kind of innovations we've done," said Erin Perrine, the director of press communications for the Trump campaign.
20The Biden campaign is also turning to social media to reach voters.
21It has used Instagram to hold discussions with well-known people and politicians.
22Last week, Biden raised more than $11 million during a virtual fundraising event with former President Barack Obama.
23Even as both campaigns experiment with ways to reach possible donors and voters, the use of technology in presidential campaigns is not new.
24Candidates have been using the internet since 1996, the year presidential hopefuls first developed websites for their campaigns.
25In 2000, Vice President Al Gore, a Democrat, and Republican Senator John McCain held online chats during their presidential runs.
26By 2004, campaigns started experimenting with ways to use the internet to connect with supporters and to help organize them, said Jennifer Stromer-Galley.
27She studies political campaigns and the use of technology at Syracuse University in New York.
28In 2008, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama used social media services like Twitter and Facebook to help him win the election.
29Stromer-Galley said the 2020 election season could be the first where campaigns spend more money on internet advertising than on television ads.
30She told VOA that internet-based ads are helpful in getting people to provide contact details after opening the ads.
31"The first thing the campaign says is, 'Hey, give me your email address.' And if you do give your email address, they also then typically ask you for your name and maybe your address or your zip code."
32Stromer-Galley said Facebook can be a useful tool for campaigns because ads can be created to target demographics of users.
33"Facebook has built an algorithm that predicts if you're politically interested.
34They have an algorithm that predicts if you're likely a Democratic supporter or a Republican supporter."
35Erin Perrine of the Trump campaign says it runs a lot of ads on Facebook continuously.
36"We do a bunch of them and those that are doing well, we'll put more money behind and continue to push those, then others that aren't, you can pull them off the platform," she said.
37I'm Bryan Lynn.
1As the novel coronavirus continues to spread in the United States, politicians are increasingly turning to technology to get their message out to voters. 2Public health guidelines for reducing the spread have led to changes in the political campaigns of President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. 3Health officials have appealed to Americans to limit face-to-face contact with others. They support calls for social distancing -- keeping space between yourself and other people outside your home. 4With social distancing rules in effect, the presidential election campaigns were faced with an unusual situation. They were no longer able to send out organizers and volunteers to connect with likely voters face-to-face. It has also not been possible for candidates to hold events that can raise millions of dollars for their campaigns. 5Eric Wilson is a technology expert working for the Republican Party. He directs the Center for Campaign Innovation. He told VOA the coronavirus health crisis forced big changes, such as the move to completely "virtual" campaigns. 6"Just like the (coronavirus) disrupted everyone else's daily life - the same is true of our campaigns," Wilson said. 7Tara McGowan is the founder of Acronym, a political organization that supports progressive causes and candidates. She agrees that campaign organizers have had to find many new ways to reach the people most likely to support their candidates. 8"You're just seeing a lot more creativity in terms of how and where the campaigns are finding the voters they need to get their message across to," McGowan told VOA. 9Since the start of social distancing orders in March, the Trump campaign has launched a daily talk show on social media. The show - which appears on services such as Facebook and YouTube - has different guests each day. 10Some well-known Republicans and members of Trump's family have appeared on the program as guests or presenters. During one show, the president's son, Donald Trump, Junior, asked his father questions. 11"That's one of the biggest kind of innovations we've done," said Erin Perrine, the director of press communications for the Trump campaign. 12The Biden campaign is also turning to social media to reach voters. It has used Instagram to hold discussions with well-known people and politicians. Last week, Biden raised more than $11 million during a virtual fundraising event with former President Barack Obama. 13Even as both campaigns experiment with ways to reach possible donors and voters, the use of technology in presidential campaigns is not new. 14Candidates have been using the internet since 1996, the year presidential hopefuls first developed websites for their campaigns. In 2000, Vice President Al Gore, a Democrat, and Republican Senator John McCain held online chats during their presidential runs. 15By 2004, campaigns started experimenting with ways to use the internet to connect with supporters and to help organize them, said Jennifer Stromer-Galley. She studies political campaigns and the use of technology at Syracuse University in New York. 16In 2008, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama used social media services like Twitter and Facebook to help him win the election. 17Stromer-Galley said the 2020 election season could be the first where campaigns spend more money on internet advertising than on television ads. 18She told VOA that internet-based ads are helpful in getting people to provide contact details after opening the ads. "The first thing the campaign says is, 'Hey, give me your email address.' And if you do give your email address, they also then typically ask you for your name and maybe your address or your zip code." 19Stromer-Galley said Facebook can be a useful tool for campaigns because ads can be created to target demographics of users. "Facebook has built an algorithm that predicts if you're politically interested. They have an algorithm that predicts if you're likely a Democratic supporter or a Republican supporter." 20Erin Perrine of the Trump campaign says it runs a lot of ads on Facebook continuously. "We do a bunch of them and those that are doing well, we'll put more money behind and continue to push those, then others that aren't, you can pull them off the platform," she said. 21I'm Bryan Lynn. 22Elizabeth Lee reported this story for VOA News. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 23We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 24________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26virtual - adj. not real, existing in cyber space 27disrupt - v. to interrupt something and stop it from continuing 28guest - n. a person who comes to visit 29innovation - n. a new idea or method of doing something 30chat - n. an informal talk with someone 31address - n. the details of where a building is located 32zip code - n. a set of numbers that go after a person's address 33demographic - n. the study of populations and the different groups that make them up 34algorithm - n. a set of steps that are followed in order to solve a mathematical problem or to complete a computer process 35platform - n. the type of computer or smartphone system you are using