As the 2024 election approaches‚ swing states are seeing a surge of unusual voter outreach tactics. Elon Musk‚ the worlds wealthiest individual‚ has promised $47 to Trump supporters for each swing state voter they recruit. On the other side Democratic groups are offering at least $160 to over 75‚000 voters who contact their friends and family to support Kamala Harris.
In Philadelphia a nonprofit is distributing 102000 copies of a comic book featuring superheros who defeat a villain trying to stop youth from voting. The comic targets voters under 32 (its aim is to increase youth turnout in Pennsylvania by more than 100‚000)
These efforts are part of a vast shadow machinery built by partisans often under nonpartisan banners. Funded largely without public disclosure‚ through local outfits and national networks most operations have been preparing for years for this moment.
The scale of these independent field and mobilization efforts is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Given the close margins between Trump and Harris in target states‚ they could prove decisive.
America Votes‚ a left-leaning network‚ aims to knock on doors in seven states more than 30 million times this year. Theyʼre focusing on about 2.5 million suspected Democratic-leaning voters who started voting in federal elections after Trumps 2016 victory.
On the right‚ the Faith and Freedom Coalition has deployed about 4‚000 part-time paid staff and many volunteers in battlegrounds‚ aiming to knock on 10 million doors.
These efforts are complemented by creative initiatives to make voting fun: free concerts street festivals‚ coat drives tailgates and daytime raves near early voting centers. In Detroit‚ a “tip off early voting“ event called “Pistonsland“ will feature carnival rides‚ food and hip-hop performances.
With the election less than a month away‚ these unconventional tactics are intensifying the race in key battleground states