New Voter Efforts Could Benefit Trump, According to Democratic Memo

Democrats are increasingly worried that voter registration efforts targeting minority voters and young people could inadvertently help former President Donald Trump in the upcoming general election.

An influential data scientist working with OpenLabs raised concerns among major Democrat donors by sending a memo challenging previous voter registration strategies.

“If we simply register nonvoters without consideration, we may end up supporting Trump’s pursuit of a personal dictatorship,” Aaron Strauss stated in the January memo, as reported by The Washington Post.

In the memo, Strauss advised donors to support groups that target voter registration efforts towards specific demographics that strongly support Biden, such as Black Americans.

Historically, outside organizations have assisted the Democratic Party in increasing voter registration among individuals of color and young voters, who typically align with the Democratic party but have lower voter turnout compared to older and white Americans.

Recent polls indicate that Biden is leading among voters who voted in 2020 but trails by a significant margin among those who did not vote in 2020, as highlighted by The New York Times.

About one-third of those who did not vote in 2020 are newly registered voters, according to The New York Times.

Gallup polling in recent years has shown that about 42% of unregistered voters lean Democrat, while 40% lean Republican.

This trend has raised concerns among Democrats, especially since Gallup data from 2016 showed a higher percentage of unregistered voters leaning Democrat at 51% compared to 31% leaning Republican.

A Pew Research Center survey from 2023 revealed that nonregistered voters had an 8-point preference for Democrats over Republicans (45% to 37%).

Recent polls have also indicated that Biden’s support among Black and Latino voters is below 2020 levels.

Despite this, Strauss’ memo was met with criticism from some Democrat supporters.

“What concerns me the most is not that young people of color will switch to the Republican party. My biggest worry is that memos like this will lead to a lack of investment, making our job much harder,” said Voto Latino CEO and President Maria Teresa Kumar in an interview with the Post.