PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is launching a digital program aimed at providing voters with personal information about candidates who will appear on the ballot in battleground states this fall.
The goal is two-fold: to get the word out about the state’s Democratic candidates and to provide the state party with access to valuable data.
When organizers and volunteers hand out flyers about the upcoming election, they include a QR code that directs voters to the Pennsylvania Democratic Party’s website. When voters scan the QR code, they are prompted to enter their name and address and are given information about which candidate they can vote for, their polling place and instructions for voting by mail. Each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties and state legislative districts has its own pamphlet promoting the candidates who will appear on the ballot.
“Once a voter used the QR code to go to our website and get their information, we also tagged them in our ballot-making database so we knew we had interested voters that we could follow up with,” Mitch Cates, executive director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, told NBC News.
This will be the first presidential election cycle in which the state party will use its “Vote Local PA” program, focusing on the state legislative district level with approximately 400 different documents across Pennsylvania.
“The road to the White House runs through Pennsylvania, and Democrats are meeting voters where they are – on their doors, on the phone and in their communities – with the party’s commitment to fighting for people, lowering costs and protecting freedom,” Democratic National Committee acting co-executive director Roger Lau said in a statement.
“The Democratic National Committee is investing more than ever in our state parties, supporting the largest coordinated campaign ever in Pennsylvania and supporting innovative efforts like ‘Vote Local PA’ to reach every voter ahead of Election Day,” he continued. “We know this election will be won in our state, and over the next 70 days, Democrats will be reaching out to voters in all 67 counties in Pennsylvania with targeted, customized messaging about what we will do for them and their families in November.”
