Jonah Patel
Political campaigns are built on location data, including state voter files listing the name, address, party affiliation, and often the voting history of every voter in the U.S. This data is used to help decide whom to target in their outreach efforts, how to reach them, and how they might respond to certain messages. Campaigns can purchase this voter information from most states, and it is also available through the Federal Election Commission (FEC) website. Additionally, data firms combine state and local voter files to make a national database, layering on data from a wide range of sources to create detailed profiles of voters. This includes information from consumer scoring data brokers, smartphone data, and publicly available voter information.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| How political campaigns get your address | Voter records, public data like voter registration, party registration, address, and participation information |
| Data firms combine state and local voter files to make a national database | |
| Ad targeting companies use IP addresses or phone location | |
| Data brokers collect information from browser cookies, web beacons, mobile phones, and social media platforms | |
| Data firms buy data from companies like Experian or Acxiom, which include real estate property records, estimated income levels, consumer purchasing patterns, and demographic data |
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Voter records
To enhance their understanding of potential voters, political campaigns and parties work with data firms to create detailed profiles with thousands of data points. These firms layer on additional data from various sources, including purchasing behavior, Census information, real estate property records, estimated income levels, consumer purchasing patterns, and demographic data. They also integrate data from different software systems and apps, such as texting apps, to reach voters across multiple platforms.
The use of voter records by political campaigns has raised concerns about privacy and safety, especially for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or trafficking. In some cases, the public availability of voter records may lead to unintended consequences, such as doxing or the release of personal information to abusive individuals. While some states have prohibitions on sharing certain types of information, the specific restrictions vary, and some states have no restrictions at all.
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Adtech tracking systems
Data Collection and Voter Profiles:
Political campaigns gather extensive data about potential voters, including their names, addresses, party affiliation, and voting history. This data is collected from various sources, such as voter records, consumer scoring data brokers (like Acxiom or Experian), smartphone data, social media platforms, and publicly available information. By combining these disparate data points, campaigns create detailed voter profiles, enabling them to target individuals or specific groups with tailored messages.
Programmatic Ad Buying:
Adtech systems utilize programmatic ad buying, which leverages algorithms to purchase digital ad space in real time. This technology allows campaigns to react swiftly to unfolding events, such as addressing a controversial issue or responding to a competitor's stance. By instantly bidding on ad space across multiple platforms, campaigns can broadcast their messages when specific topics are top-of-mind among voters, increasing the impact and relevance of their advertisements.
Microtargeting:
Microtargeting is a critical aspect of adtech tracking systems, enabling campaigns to slice the voter landscape into precise segments. By leveraging data analytics, campaigns can customize messages for small groups or even individual voters. This personalized approach, informed by various data sources, helps craft nuanced messages that resonate with voters on a deeper level, boosting engagement and increasing the likelihood of influencing their decisions.
Geofencing and Location-Based Targeting:
Geofencing technology allows campaigns to target individuals within specific geographic boundaries, such as political rallies or competitor venues. Companies like El Toro offer "cookie-free device & IP targeting," matching physical addresses to IP addresses for precise ad delivery. This location-based targeting helps campaigns reach voters not in their files, ensuring that their messages are highly relevant to specific geographic areas.
Connected Television (CTV) and Streaming Services:
Adtech strategies are increasingly focusing on CTV and streaming platforms. With the decline of traditional TV, political campaigns are investing more in CTV ad space, expecting a significant rise in ad spending in this area. Additionally, streaming services with ad-based subscription tiers provide opportunities for campaigns to integrate data about users' viewing habits, further personalizing the advertisements they deliver.
AI and Ethical Concerns:
While adtech offers numerous advantages, the use of AI in political campaigns has raised ethical concerns. Incidents, such as the Florida Governor Ron DeSantis campaign's use of AI-generated deepfakes, highlight the risks of misinformation and factual inaccuracies. The absence of regulatory frameworks for AI in political advertising intensifies the potential for misuse, especially when AI-generated content may not align with a campaign's core messaging, leading to confusion among voters.
In conclusion, adtech tracking systems have become indispensable in political campaigns, offering unprecedented opportunities for targeted messaging and voter engagement. However, as these technologies continue to evolve and shape the electoral process, it is crucial to address the ethical implications and establish guidelines to ensure transparency, accuracy, and the protection of voters' privacy.
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Location data
Political campaigns use location data to target voters with advertising. This can be done by purchasing voter records from states, which include names, addresses, and party affiliation. Campaigns can also use location data to target voters through their phones and other devices. This is often done by using ad targeting companies, such as El Toro, which can match names on a list to IP addresses with a 95% confidence level. These companies can also use geographic areas, such as neighborhoods or college campuses, to target specific groups of voters.
Social media platforms, such as Facebook, also allow campaigns to target voters by location, down to a 1-mile radius. Campaigns can upload a list of people they want to target using details like names or phone numbers. They can also target people with similar characteristics to those on their list. Facebook will tell the campaign how many people on the list saw the ad but not who they are.
Political campaigns also use data firms to create national databases of voter files, collecting information from many sources to create detailed profiles of voters. These firms layer data from a wide range of sources, including purchasing behavior, census information, real estate property records, estimated income levels, and demographic data. This data is integrated with different software systems to be used across different platforms.
The emerging and largely unregulated political tracking industry has the ability to trace the movements of voters before they vote. This raises concerns about the privacy and protection of voter data, with voters often left in the dark about how they were targeted and by whom.
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Public records
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) also plays a role in providing transparency around campaign finances. The FEC makes a wide range of federal campaign finance reports and documents available for public review and inspection. This includes information filed by candidates and committees, as well as details about Commission activity. The FEC website provides resources and guides to help the public access and navigate these records.
In addition to the FEC, each state typically has its own public records office that maintains and provides access to state-level campaign finance reports and other election-related information. These offices often participate in the Commission's State Filing Waiver Program, allowing electronic access to federal campaign finance reports. The public can refer to the Combined Federal/State Disclosure and Election Directory to find contact information for federal and state disclosure offices.
It's important to note that while voter registration records are public, nearly all states limit their use to non-commercial purposes. There are also programs in some states that allow voters to keep their records confidential, such as address confidentiality programs for domestic violence victims.
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Data firms
To get a fuller understanding of potential voters, data firms layer on additional data, such as purchasing behavior, Census information, and demographic data. They also integrate this data with different software systems, such as VoteBuilder, to enable campaigns to use the data across different platforms, such as texting apps. This data is regularly updated with new information during campaigns and can be fed back to the parties for use in future campaigns.
Some data firms that have been mentioned in this context include TargetSmart, which works for Democrats, and Data Trust, which helps Republicans. Right-leaning firm i360, a self-described "comprehensive data resource of all voting Americans," received more than $3.3 million during the 2020 election cycle. The National Rifle Association paid more than $1 million to access i360 data for phone banks and text messages in 2020. Other firms mentioned include Experian, Acxiom, and El Toro, which offers "100% Cookie-Free Device & IP Targeting" for clients, allowing ads to be targeted at specific addresses.
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Frequently asked questions
Political campaigns purchase voting records for political purposes. These records include names, addresses, and party affiliations. This information is used for mailings or other targeted political ads.
Political campaigns use the same invasive tricks as behavioral ads, pulling data from a variety of sources online to create a profile. They can also use your phone's location to target you with ads on your devices. Companies like El Toro are able to use their own data troves to match names on their list to IP addresses and target those devices with online ads.
Political campaigns have access to public data like voter registration, party registration, address, and participation information (whether or not a voter voted, not who they voted for). They can also access your digital trail, including browser cookies, web beacons, mobile phones, and social media platforms.
