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Writer's pictureNEA Democratic Caucus

Campaigning during Covid 19


June 25, 2020


by Vice-Chair

Owen Jackman




The recent Covid 19 pandemic has led to many changes throughout society. With campaigns being one of those things. While some things will never change such as Television advertising Covid will bring out profound changes in other areas.


 Until there is a vaccine we will be seeing a halt to most traditional retail politics.

The primary one being precinct walking (going to targeted houses in the neighborhood to speak with registered voters). This method has always been seen as the most effective ways to reach a voter especially in down ticket races like school boards. With the logic being. Television ads can be ignored. Campaign mail can be thrown in the trash. It is hard to ignore someone coming to your door and talking to you face to face.


With Covid right now I do not see anyone opening a door to a stranger. Just from personal experience and I have been working on campaigns since 1984 from President down to school board. I found that fewer and fewer people were answering their door even when they were home. Oftentimes at people’s houses I could see cars in the garage, dish washer or dryers being used and the door would go unanswered. Throw in what is now going on, and walking neighborhoods seems impractical.


In fact, the other methods of retail politics look like they will not be practical in today’s Covid environment.

Having a table at a Farmers market, handing out leaflets on busy streets, camping out in front of stores and other retail locations. These other ways of getting the word out about a campaign or issue will also not be practical. With most mass gatherings being postponed or cancelled due to social distancing and sanitization requirements. These methods of campaigning could very well go the way of buffets, handshakes and water fountains!


        One of the other pillars of retail politics phone banking is also facing challenges of its own. Phone banking while not as effective as precinct walking was also one of the best ways to engage voters one on one. However research has shown that phone banking is getting less and less effective for the following reasons. Although there is no such thing as a “Do Not Call list” for campaigns. With Caller ID less and less people are willing to answer calls where they don’t know who is on the other end. When you add the explosion of robo-calls, sales calls, and fraudulent calls, it is easy to see the diminishing returns in phone banking.


        Another significant issue is that many phone lists from consulting firms until recently have only included landlines. Until now, to call cell phones each number had to be dialed by hand. Each volunteer or call center operator would :

1) have to dial a key on the computer or the whole 10-digit number, wait for it to ring, and hopefully someone picks up; and

2) have to start all over for the next one. For volunteers, that takes a lot of time; for paid phone programs, the costs were just too steep – often three times as much as calling landlines. So reaching people via their cell phone can be done but it is not easy nor cheap.


Enter Hustle.

No we aren’t talking about the hit disco song from the 70’s done by Van Mc Coy. We are talking about the text application. What Hustle does is do a mass text to whoever you have downloaded in your universe. The application then notifies you of any responses. This enables you to contact thousands of people in a relatively short amount of time. Unlike phone banks or precinct walks you can “Hustle” anywhere you want and anytime when the application is open.


Usually 8am to 8pm according to Susan Savage CTA political consultant. She also points out some drawbacks.

“You can only text to folks with cell phone numbers who haven’t opted out. It has limited effectiveness if cold calling external voters and is much more effective with a known group (like CTA) for follow up”

         She also noted they are now trying different models to precinct walking using technology. She said that recently in a City Council Race in Davis California they did this. Start with a literature drop(no contact), follow up with a zoom or text message. Then invite all those interested to a Zoom meet-the candidate event. She says expect to see more of this in the future where old school and new school techniques will be combined.



There are also other social media platforms with its advantages and disadvantages according to Samantha De Muro CTA communications consultant.

You Tube advantages: an incredibly engaging way to share a message, has a huge built in audience, great analytics and easy to upload videos.


Disadvantages: comment can get a little snarky, hard to produce videos consistently. You need some video editing skills.


Twitter advantages: ability to jump on national and local conversations, networking and news. Short and sweet only 280 characters, politicians, journalists and educators have Twitter accounts.


Disadvantages: Can be a bigger learning curve, not many educators are on this platform, you may feel like you never see the end of your feed.


Instagram advantages: Visual and creative, easy to learn, can be great to engage younger educators and students, show instead of tell.


Disadvantages: Must have the app in order to use effectively, many older people are not on it, can be difficult to express certain topics visually. Facebook has affected Instagram’s algorithm so you may not see the posts you want.


Finally Facebook advantages: Largest social network, can do everything text,video,photos, tagging, 360, live. Also a lot teachers know how to use it, an speak to one’s one community of friends easily.


Disadvantages: can be insular; most people have private profile accounts that have to be “friends” to engage, monetizes engagement (charging $ for posts to be seen), many younger folks do not use Facebook. Changes features often, privacy settings can be difficult.


        So there you have it these new technologies are going to change the way that we campaign in a world with Covid 19. What’s best for you? It really depends on the volunteers you have and what kind of campaign you want to run. As educators it is always best to check with your union’s political consultant for a full breakdown of the technology and what if any state or local laws apply. Have a great time on the campaign trail!

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