People familiar with the situation say the software used requires high-speed internet service to properly track recruiters, making it easier for Donald Trump’s campaign to ensure ground operations reach targeted voters in battleground states. There is limited ability to know whether or not it is.
This term, the Trump campaign is targeting so-called low-traffickers, who often live in rural areas, as part of a bet that they can profit by attacking people who don’t normally vote but would likely vote for Trump if they did. targeted at Trump voters. The difference in a close election.
But the Trump campaign and Elon Musk-backed America Pac, which currently handles much of the Trump campaign’s operations, use a management app called Campaign Sidekick, which is difficult in areas with slow internet. , campaign participants must use the offline version.
The Campaign Sidekick app effectively offers participants with less than 40mbps internet connection, enough to stream 4K video, the use of an “offline walkbook” that has no geo-tracking capabilities and is not necessarily uploaded after route completion. It is said that it is forcing
As a result, the Trump campaign and America Pac now have little way to know whether the recruiters are actually knocking on doors or are fraudulently doing so – for example, literally voting while driving. By “speed run” routes of throwing materials at doors, etc. — in the past.
America Pac is trying to stop fraud by sending a team of auditors to follow up, but there is no way to directly audit all offline walkbooks, leaving the Trump campaign focused on hitting low-propensity voters. The frequency of audits is particularly high due to the fact that
Additionally, even if a recruiter legally completes a route offline, that data may not be subsequently uploaded. Campaign workers are paid at the door and can cause trouble for voters by having to redo their work, wasting time, and harassing them twice.
“Elon Musk could offer Starlink to his recruits,” said one political operative involved in Operation America Pac, referring to Musk’s satellite-based mobile internet router. I joked.
The Trump campaign had previously filed complaints about Sidekick, the people said. At least two other SuperPacs involved in ground operations on behalf of the Trump campaign in battleground states have ceased their use in their own operations.
These widespread complaints include the app crashing during peak hours when many people are using the app at once, and technical issues such as the app’s Google Maps preview not working to help recruiters get directions. Contains certain defects.
Campaign Sidekick has previously been upfront about the limitations of offline walkbooks, telling customers it tracks factors that could indicate fraud, such as canvassers claiming to have spoken to voters in more than 25% of their doors. The company has pushed back against criticism by saying that it recommends that customers do the same. strike.
And September Group LLC, a major recruiting vendor that until last month was contracted by America Pac to door-knock in Arizona and Nevada, said that even if it avoided using offline walkbooks because of their shortcomings, It is understood that they were generally satisfied with the results.
Chris Lacivita, the Trump campaign’s co-campaign manager, dismissed the complaints in a statement, saying, “Our recruiting apps are working flawlessly, and to complement our efforts, we have deployed a number of apps unparalleled in politics this cycle. “We have invested in new technology.” This is clearly a hit job by a failed vendor who will be named and shamed as soon as they win this campaign. ”
LaCivita did not say why their suspicions rested on the vendor, given the fact that the complaints primarily come from its own ground gaming partners. The statement also failed to mention that the campaign had been aware of the issue for some time.
Other groups have also received complaints about Campaign Sidekick. Turning Point Action, run by right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, has faced so many challenges against the Trump campaign that it uses its own app in Arizona, Wisconsin, and parts of Michigan. He said he intended to do so.
Turning Point’s complaints center around having to do everything manually. They say that if one election participant can complete only part of a door-knock route, there is no way to automatically reassign the remaining doors to another election participant, and those voters simply will not be reached at all. expressed dissatisfaction.
It’s not entirely clear why the Trump campaign is sticking with the software, other than seeking continuity.
The Trump campaign took control of the RNC in March and directed America Pac to use the app. That’s partly because the Trump campaign itself was already using the app, and partly because the idea was that it would be easier to analyze the data if everything was provided through the same system. Trump official said.
But there were also political considerations. The Trump campaign decided not to use other platforms such as i360 Walk, one of the people said, in part due to distrust of owners Koch brothers, who have opposed Trump in the past. It is said to be a thing.
The Trump campaign also said it believed Advantage’s software was inferior and that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used its platform in his campaign to get votes against Trump in the 2024 Republican primary. software was not used.
And the Numinar platform, which is currently being used by America First Works, another Trump allies pack doing ground game work, has been marketed as a replacement for the campaign sidekick at the beginning of this campaign, then for reasons unknown, but failed to gain support from the RNC. presidential cycle.
