
In preparation for a pair of marquee statewide races at the top of the ballot this November, the California Republican Party has revamped and revised its fall ground game plans.
One new feature of the GOP's fall operation is a web-based system called "GOP Swarm" that will allow county chairs to print precinct walk lists and maps, according to a memorandum obtained by RealClearPolitics that state GOP political director Jeff Corless and Victory Director Jessica Patterson sent to GOP county chairmen in the state late this summer. "GOP Swarm" replaces the old "Voter Vault" database that the California GOP will not use this year, the document notes.
In addition, the "Victory 2010 Republican Voter Turnout Program" established a 70-day timeline to identify community leaders and recruit "Precinct Representatives" who will storm the state to find more votes.
The 58-page document lays out how county parties are expected to carry out the plan.
"California's too big to knock on everyone's door. It's a big media state," said a Republican source who has worked for statewide California campaigns. "The ground operation is less important in California than it is in states like Iowa and others."
In the governor's race, Republican Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay, has vastly outspent Democratic former Gov. Jerry Brown and has swamped him in TV advertising, but the race remains neck-and-neck. Republican Carly Fiorina trails Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer, as well, but public polling shows both races within single digits, and voter turnout programs could make the difference in those races.
The new "Swarm" program is "integrated with the voter data management systems for both the gubernatorial and senatorial candidates on the 2010 Republican ticket for efficiency," the plan notes.
The overall operation is organized around four major events, two of which have already passed. County parties trained volunteers to canvass their precincts at a one-hour training session in September. Volunteers then walked their precincts delivering campaign materials on Oct. 2, before the Vote-By-Mail session began, and they will do so again on Oct. 30, just ahead of Election Day.
Then, according to a section on precinct operations, "Precinct Representatives close out the campaign on Election Day through a system that will identify the voters in their precinct who have not voted as of 2:00 PM, contacting them and reminding them to vote."
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