A recent poll by the New York Times and Siena College has shown former President Donald Trump leading President Joe Biden in five battleground states, which has prompted Republicans to rethink their election strategy. The poll revealed that Trump gained significant support from traditionally Democrat, low-turnout voters such as young people and racial minorities. These voters, known as low-propensity voters, have infrequent turnout compared to other demographics.
In some states, Trump’s lead over Biden narrowed among likely voters compared to registered voters, indicating the presence of voters who may lean towards Trump but are not considered likely to vote. This highlights the importance of Republicans focusing on mobilizing operations to reach out to these voters and collect their ballots.
Ballot chasing, a tactic often used by Democrats, involves collecting completed ballots from voters and dropping them off at polling stations. While Democrats have traditionally excelled in this practice, Republicans have been lagging behind in ballot-chasing operations, preferring to focus on encouraging in-person voter turnout on Election Day.
With at least 24 states permitting individuals to return mail-in ballots for voters, the practice of ballot collection has proven to be effective in helping Democrats secure victories in elections. Republicans have started to recognize the significance of the ground game and have pledged to conduct their own ballot collection operations where legal.
Both the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee are deploying operations fueled by passionate volunteers to engage with low-propensity voters and secure their ballots. While they are committed to utilizing legal processes to turn out the vote, they are not sharing specifics of their strategy with the news media.
Overall, the polling data suggests a shift in support towards Trump among traditionally Democrat blocs, emphasizing the need for Republicans to prioritize engaging low-propensity voters in their election strategy.
