Cell phone data, mobile apps and paid media: DNC touts voter-targeting plans

The Democratic National Committee is making new tech investments to bolster its efforts to reach young voters and voters of color in an increasingly fragmented environment, according to a new memo laying out the party’s strategies in the months leading up to the general election.

Bolstered by the over $192 million dollars Democrats have amassed in the first quarter of this year, Democrats have doled out millions to acquire data and new technology to specifically target voters in battleground states and create a “data infrastructure” that can equally be utilized by national and state parties.

The party has invested $2 million dollars this cycle in cell phone data in a bid to better target voters in battleground states, according to the memo, which touted expanding its cell phone coverage on voter lists from 30% of voters in 2016 to over 80% now. An additional $2 million annually has been invested in “models and commercial data to better understand voters.”

The Democrats point to the Wisconsin state Supreme Court race as evidence of the benefit of having such data on file, citing the 1.4 million calls and texts Wisconsin Democrats made to support candidates in 2023, including now-Justice Janet Protasiewicz.

So far, the DNC says it’s made 1.2 million calls and sent 5.4 million texts to engage voters and promote events, recruit for organizing activities and support voter registration efforts in battleground states.

The party plans to invest more in its relational organizing programs to better reach young voters and voters of color before the election. That includes a Wisconsin-based pilot program that has been engaging youth voters on college campuses in Green Bay, Madison, Milwaukee and Eau Claire.

Ahead of President Joe