Technology Helps Keep Election Campaigns Alive During Coronavirus

As the novel coronavirus continues to spread in the United States, politicians are increasingly turning to technology to get their message out to voters.

Public health guidelines for reducing the spread have led to changes in the political campaigns of President Donald Trump¹ and former Vice² President Joe Biden.

Health 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.

With 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.

Eric 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.

"Just like the (coronavirus) disrupted everyone else's daily life - the same is true of our campaigns," Wilson said.

Tara McGowan is the founder³ of Acronym⁴, 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.

"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.

Since 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.

Some well-known Republicans and members of Trump's family have appeared on the program as guests or presenters⁵. During one show, the president's son, Donald Trump, Junior, asked his father questions.

"That's one of the biggest kind of innovations we've done," said Erin Perrine, the director of press communications for the Trump campaign.

The 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.

Even as both campaigns experiment with ways to reach possible donors⁶ and voters, the use of technology in presidential campaigns is not new.

Candidates have been using the internet since 1996, the year presidential hopefuls first developed websites for their campaigns. In 2000, Vice President Al Gore⁷, a Democrat⁸, and Republican Senator John McCain held online chats during their presidential runs.

By 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.

In 2008, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama used social media services like Twitter and Facebook to help him win the election.

Stromer-Galley said the 2020 election season could be the first where campaigns spend more money on internet advertising⁹ than on television ads.

She 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."

Stromer-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."

Erin 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.

I'm Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

virtual – adj. not real, existing in cyber space

disrupt – v. to interrupt something and stop it from continuing

guest – n. a person who comes to visit

innovation – n. a new idea or method of doing something

chat – n. an informal talk with someone

address – n. the details of where a building is located

zip code – n. a set of numbers that go after a person's address

demographic – n. the study of populations and the different groups that make them up

algorithm – n. a set of steps that are followed in order to solve a mathematical problem or to complete a computer process

platform – n. the type of computer or smartphone system you are using

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

5 presenters   

n.节目主持人，演播员( presenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Each week presenters would put the case for their favourite candidate. 每个星期主持人推出他们最喜欢的候选人。 来自互联网
• Karaoke was set up to allowed presenters to sing on the stage. 宴会设有歌唱舞台，可让出席者大演唱功。 来自互联网

6 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

8 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

9 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。