The large-scale voter contact effort that conservatives have put at the center of their political operations is plagued with issues including fraudulent and untrustworthy data entries, allegations of lax hiring practices, and a lack of accountability.
, a paid canvasser in Nevada did what thousands of door-knockers across the country were doing: They went on an app and marked off the homes they had visited that day.
that conservatives have put at the center of their political operations in recent years is plagued with issues, according to more than a dozen people who’ve worked in GOP-aligned field operations and internal data obtained by NBC News. Those issues include fraudulent and untrustworthy data entries, akin to what occurred in Nevada, as well as allegations of lax hiring practices and a lack of accountability.
After several cycles of tough, sometimes close, losses, the concerned operatives said they believe it’s time for party leaders to address what they say is happening on the ground. “Because these numbers are recycled, they’re used in text messages, they’re used in mailers, they’re used to target voters,” said one GOP field operative who has worked on multiple party-aligned canvassing efforts. “And if the base data is bad, it’s a disaster for campaigns everywhere.”
The Republican National Committee is formally reviewing why the party fell short of expectations. Officials overseeing the national party’s post-midterm audit did not respond to questions from NBC News on whether they are reviewing canvassing operations as part of that effort.
“I don’t think everything was done perfectly, obviously, [look at the] results,” this person said. “But at the same time, there are a lot of people that have their own agenda or some other agenda for outside groups or whatever the case may be.”Every Republican interviewed by NBC News said that door-knocking, when done correctly, is one of the most effective ways to reach voters.
The number of paper entries in Campaign Sidekick grew from zero during the early months of the door-knocking effort to more than 1 million by late October, internal data from mid-April to late October obtained by NBC News showed. A national GOP operative disputed this figure, saying paper door contacts accounted for just over 860,000 entries last cycle.
The two staffers both said they did not personally raise their concerns about the paper entries with superiors. Additionally, two people familiar with the RNC's canvassing operation said GOP candidates may upload their data into party-led operations like Georgia Victory, boosting the party's topline number but potentially skewing paper entries in the process.
“The vast majority of volunteers in our program use our walk applications over paper to knock doors and we have controls in place to ensure accountability,” he added. For a week in early August, data showed Georgia Victory’s statewide goal was to make north of 142,000 door-based contacts. More than 120 volunteers and paid staff submitted roughly 72,000 contacts in real time. Paper entries accounted for an additional 54,000 contacts. During a week in early October, that goal increased to more than 220,000 door-based contacts, with a team of 180-plus volunteers and paid staff contributing north of 102,000 real-time entries.
In recent cycles, Republicans have become more and more dependent on paid canvassing facilitated by outside consultants. While a welcome resource, paid door-knockers, who are often flown in from out of state, are sometimes minimally vetted in order to be deployed quickly, multiple sources said. Consulting outfits may take on jobs only to subcontract them out to other firms, creating an unwieldy patchwork that’s difficult to police.
“Several former employees were fired after their background checks returned showing that they were violent felons,” the person continued in the email. “This company put not only the other employees at risk, but they also put the voters at risk as well.” “In August, it’s a terrible job in Texas, and we run through a lot of people,” he said, noting the sweltering heat canvassers must work through. “We’ve done research, we know empirically that door-knocking where you actually talk to a voter really jacks up their turnout. But it’s a huge, human resources hiring operation, because we have to churn through so many people.”
Elsewhere, the former top RNC field official who cautioned that some of the concerns were overblown said they believe the “culture” in GOP campaigns is shifting away from volunteers for a number of reasons. One major one: when Trump is not on the ballot, many who would otherwise be eager to volunteer sit on the sidelines.
The complaint alleges that the Nevada secretary of state’s office informed leaders of the initiative that some names were listed multiple times with only their middle name swapped out, replaced with an obscenity. Other pages were burned or smelled of “bong water,” according to the complaint. A Vanguard representative said the lawsuit is merely an effort to garner attention and harm the company’s reputation, pointing out that the lawsuit has been amended multiple times since its filing, with Axiom’s Roe himself being added as a defendant and later removed.
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