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Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020

Do political campaign workers typically have access to lots of personal data about voters?

Eric Smith, Gigafact
yes

Anyone working for a political campaign with access to voter file database software can access personal voter data.

Voting records are generally publicly available, with access and the extent of detail varying across the states. As data collection and analysis have become more sophisticated, political campaigns have begun to target and track voters, adding information about a voter's party affiliations, religion, race, education level, finances and lifestyle. This information helps campaigns direct messages to different voter demographics.

Campaigns often obtain or buy the information from a variety of sources, including the census, phone books, credit data and social media. However, the data provided to campaigns is not always entirely accurate, especially on variables like education or household income.

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