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Afghan Americans Voting With Eye Toward Afghan Refugee Issues

 Some Afghan Americans who live in northern Virginia are determined to vote in the midterm elections, saying that U.S. foreign policy toward Afghanistan and immigration are most important to them. Matiullah Abid Noor and Shahnaz Nafees have the story. Roshan Noorzai contributed to this report.
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As Midterm Elections Near, Twitter Turmoil Raises Misinformation Concerns

Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter comes as the U.S. holds midterm elections this week, with observers warning that online misinformation about the credibility of the electoral process can have real-world effects. Is Twitter, under Musk, ready? Tina Trinh reports. Michelle Quinn contributed.
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Republicans, Democrats File Over 100 Lawsuits in Run-up to Midterms

In the run-up to Tuesday’s midterms, Republicans and Democrats have filed dozens of lawsuits in battleground states that hold the key to control of the U.S. Congress.

The lawsuits challenge various rules governing the elections, with the bulk focused on the casting and counting of mail-in ballots that have grown in popularity in recent years.

As of Monday, a total of 128 election and voting-related lawsuits have been filed so far in 2022, according to Democracy Docket, a left-leaning voting rights organization that tracks election litigation. Of the total, 71 seek to restrict access to voting, while the rest aim to expand or protect voting, Democracy Docket says.

A September analysis by Democracy Docket showed that Republicans accounted for slightly more than half of the lawsuits filed this year.

Sylvia Albert, Director of Voting and Elections at Common Cause, a nonpartisan watchdog and advocacy organization, said the extraordinary amount of litigation will likely make this midterm the most litigious election in recent memory, after only the 2020 presidential race.

“It is routine for there to be a small amount of lawsuits filed on both sides to get an edge,” Albert said. “What’s different this time around is the sheer amount of lawsuits, and the obvious attempt to disenfranchise voters and undermine people’s faith in elections.”

In 2020, Democracy Docket tracked 68 lawsuits filed before Election Day.

Hans von Spakovsky, manager of the election law reform initiative at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said the Republican lawsuits merely seek compliance with the law.

“My understanding is that the lawsuits that are being filed are simply asking courts to order state officials to comply with state law,” von Spakovsky said.

Democracy Docket says Republicans have filed a record number of election-related lawsuits this year, with the majority seeking to limit mail-in voting.

Voting by mail surged during the 2020 presidential election. But Republican-controlled states have since adopted measures to limit the practice, saying that mail-in voting is susceptible to fraud.

Republicans have had some success challenging voting by mail this year.

In Wisconsin, where Republican Senator Ron Johnson faces a tough challenge from the state’s Democratic lieutenant governor, local courts last week sided with Republicans, ruling that county clerks could not accept mail-in ballots with partial addresses of witnesses.

In Pennsylvania, where a Senate seat vacated by a Republican is up for grabs, the state Supreme Court last week approved a Republican request that election officials not count undated or incorrectly dated mail-in ballots.

But in Michigan, a judge Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by a Republican candidate who asked the court to require all voters in Detroit to get absentee ballots in person or vote in person.

Albert of Common Cause said the current litigation over the counting of absentee ballots will likely extend into the post-election canvass and certification period, delaying the results of some close races.

“Especially in states where absentee ballots could swing the results,” Albert said. “We continue to reiterate that Election Day is not results day, and we may be waiting quite a while for final counts.”

Post-election court battles will likely involve many aspects of the elections. In addition to the counting and processing of mail-in ballots, Democracy Docket says it expects legal challenges to voters’ eligibility, intimidation of voters and election workers, conspiracy theories about electronic voting machines and counties that refuse to certify their election results.
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US Officials Hope Confidence Campaign Pays Off for Midterm Elections

U.S. voters and election security officials are bracing for potential disruptions, meddling and even violence as millions of Americans head to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots in the country’s midterm elections.

According to a recent Economist/YouGov poll, just over half of Americans (51%) say violence at polling places is somewhat or very likely.

The poll, which surveyed 1,500 adults between October 29 and November 1, found just as many (51%) believe there will be interference by foreign countries.

A separate YouGov poll from July found 32% of those surveyed had little to no confidence in the results of the midterms.

“I would say I have concerns about the system,” an Arizona voter named Fred, who declined to share his last name, told VOA. “Who’s to say that they count all the votes properly?”

Despite such skepticism, the message from U.S. election officials has been consistent.

“Americans should go to the ballot box with confidence,” Jen Easterly, the director of the Cybersecurity and Election Security Agency (CISA), told a cybersecurity forum late last month.

“There’s been an incredible amount of work done across the board to be able to secure our election infrastructure,” she said, sharing a message that has since been echoed by Homeland Security officials and even the White House.

Yet U.S. officials also acknowledge the threats to Tuesday’s elections are serious and are being treated with proper caution.

Violence

The country’s Homeland Security officials began sounding the alarm about potential election-related violence as far back as February, repeating the warning in an updated National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin in June.

“We assess that calls for violence by domestic violent extremists directed at democratic institutions, political candidates, party offices, election events, and election workers will likely increase,” the bulletin said.

More recent intelligence assessments by U.S. officials caution the greatest threat is posed by so-called “lone wolves” – angry or aggrieved individuals who decide to act on their own.

Likely targets range from election-related infrastructure, such as polling places and ballot drop boxes, to election workers, voters and even political candidates and rallies.

Adding to the concern is the growing use of militaristic language and imagery in U.S.-based disinformation campaigns, some of which is being amplified by U.S. adversaries such as Russia.

“The influence attempts … do not directly encourage people to undertake violent actions, but very likely lay the groundwork and allude to some physical action,” Brian Liston, a senior threat intelligence analyst for the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, told VOA by email.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has received more than 1,000 reports of threats against election officials since June 2021, leading to at least six arrests, according to senior officials.

Almost 60% of the reported threats came from seven states – Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Wisconsin. All either ran audits or saw considerable debate about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election.

Disinformation

Concerns about disinformation campaigns and influence operations have been increasing steadily in the run-up to the midterm elections.

U.S. officials and researchers believe the majority of disinformation is originating domestically, citing a rise in anti-government and anti-authority sentiment within the U.S.

But they warn there has been a concerted effort by multiple U.S. adversaries to seize on lingering doubts about the election system itself.

Russia, China and Iran “will take advantage of sort of election integrity narratives that come up in the U.S. ecosystem,” a senior FBI official said last month while briefing reporters. “We’ve seen that already, specifically from Russia.”

The cybersecurity firm Recorded Future has further warned that Russia and China resurrected dormant social media accounts to amplify doubt and deepen U.S. political divisions ahead of the midterm elections.

In the case of Russia, several of the resurrected accounts targeted audiences on social media platforms like Gab and Gettr that cater to conservative audiences, Recorded Future said.

Recorded Future said China’s influence operations, such as a campaign that began this past September, span platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Douyin, described as a Chinese-language version of TikTok.

“Many of these [posts and comments] appear to criticize both the Republican and Democrat parties and promote extreme views on both sides,” the Recorded Future report said.

China has consistently denied allegations it has used and is using influence operations to meddle in U.S. elections.

But on Monday, a key confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin contradicted previous denials from the Kremlin, confessing to ongoing election meddling.

“We have interfered, we are interfering, and we will continue to interfere,” Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Russian social media. “Carefully, accurately, surgically and in our own way, as we know how to do.”

Additional research has warned of likely disinformation campaigns aimed at discrediting voting system manufacturers. 

CISA, the lead federal agency for election security, has pushed back against disinformation efforts with social media campaigns pointing voters to trusted voices – state and local election officials.

CISA has also updated its rumor control website, set up to debunk election-related disinformation and conspiracy theories.

Cyber threats

Despite concerns that adversaries such as Russia, China and Iran may try to disrupt the election with a combination of cyber hacks and ransomware, U.S. officials have expressed confidence the risks are low.

“There is no information credible or specific about efforts to disrupt or compromise that election infrastructure” CISA Director Jen Easterly said last week.

Other CISA officials have said the agency, along with state and local partners, has continued to build on security measures from the 2020 U.S. elections to better secure election systems, and systems and databases related to elections, such as those that keep track of registered voters.

At the same time, U.S. Cyber Command has been directing its teams to look for potential attacks but has repeatedly said it is not finding new threats.

That aligns with the findings of multiple cybersecurity firms, which have said most of what they have seen, so far, is “pretty basic.”

“There is a continued focus on state election officials. However, it’s kind of a low-tech approach. It’s very much focused on the user itself, phishing and trying to bait them into surrendering their credentials,” Pat Flynn, head of the Advanced Programs Group at Trellix, told VOA.

“I don’t see any indications that any sort of technology is compromised, or we should lose confidence in the election system,” he added.

Still, CISA has warned it is possible hackers may try to go after systems that will make voting more difficult, possibly by trying to take down power stations or by hitting local government websites with ransomware.

But Easterly has cautioned that just because there are problems, it does not mean there is an attack.

“There are going to be errors. There are going to be glitches. It happens in every election,” she said.

“Somebody will forget their key to the polling place. A water pipe will burst … These are normal things. They’re not nefarious.”
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Republicans Show Late Gains as Election Enters Final Days

With just days to go before the 2022 midterm elections, and control of both houses of Congress and many important state-level offices on the line, momentum appears to be swinging in favor of the Republican Party.

For several months in the middle of 2022, Democrats had allowed themselves to hope that this year they might escape the usual fate of the president’s party during midterms — an almost inevitable loss of seats in Congress.

A Supreme Court ruling that did away with a constitutional right to abortion, and a series of high-profile hearings illuminating the role former President Trump played in the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol seemed to invigorate Democratic voters, who showed up in record numbers for a number of state-level elections over the summer.

However, with the nation struggling under levels of inflation not seen in a generation and Democratic President Joe Biden’s approval rating well below 50%, late polling shows Republicans making gains across a variety of races.

Fundamentals ‘assert themselves’

While conceding that 2022 had been a “topsy-turvy year,” Kyle Kondik, the managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, told VOA the late change “aligns with what usually happens in [the] midterms.”

He said, “Particularly when you’ve got a president with poor numbers, sometimes the fundamentals just assert themselves.”

William A. Galston, a senior fellow in the Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies Program, told VOA that he agrees that Republicans appear to be enjoying a late surge, but said that shouldn’t be seen as a surprise.

“It’s important to understand that there is nothing unusual about this,” he said. “Indeed, it would be unusual if it weren’t happening. What also seems clear is that the themes that Republicans have emphasized increasingly during this campaign have turned out to be the issues that are top of mind for voters.”

Galston added, “By contrast, the Democratic Party’s agenda has appealed more to core Democrats than to anyone else. Core Democrats care a lot about abortion. They care a lot about threats to democracy, as they understand those threats. But the Republican focus on inflation and crime and to a lesser extent immigration, particularly in border states, has proved more effective.”

Limited competition in House races

In the House of Representatives, control goes to the party that holds a majority of the 435 seats. Currently, the Democrats hold 220 seats, only two more than the 218 required for a bare majority.

Because of the already tight margin of control in the House, even a small pickup by Republicans would be enough to give them control of the chamber, a result that most election observers have been confidently predicting for months.

In the elections for the 435 seats that make up the House of Representatives, the vast majority of races are not considered competitive at all. Over the course of many years, through a process known as “gerrymandering,” House districts have been drawn in such a way that most heavily favor members of one party or another.

Bad numbers for Democrats

For example, in its most recent analysis of the races, the Cook Political Report rates a total of 347 House seats as “solid” for one party or the other, with Republicans maintaining an advantage of 188 to 159.

Among the remainder, Cook Political rates 13 as “likely” Democratic wins and 11 as likely Republican wins, while another 16 seats “lean” Democratic and another 13 lean Republican.

Assuming all those races go as expected, that leaves Republicans with 212 seats and Democrats with 188.

This leaves a total of 35 races where the outcome remains in doubt. The GOP would need only win six out of that total to take control, but they are expected to pick up significantly more than that.

Close contest for Senate

The 100 seats in the Senate are currently split evenly between Republicans on one side and Democrats and Independents who caucus with them on the other. The Democrats hold control of the chamber only because Vice President Kamala Harris has the authority to cast tie-breaking votes when the body is deadlocked.

In the Senate, only about one-third of the seats are contested in any given federal election, because Senators serve six-year terms. This year there are 35 seats on the ballot, 14 currently held by Democrats and 21 by Republicans.

The distribution of seats up for election would appear to favor Democrats, who are defending fewer seats, but most analysts believe that the balance of power in the Senate will be decided by just four close races. Three of those involve seats currently held by Democrats, while the fourth is an open seat being vacated by retiring Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey.

Key races

In Georgia, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who took office in 2021 after winning a special election to fill a seat left vacant by an incumbent’s resignation, is running to win a full term. He is being challenged by Herschel Walker, a former football star and political neophyte. Polling in the final week before the election showed a race with a result too close to call.

Sen. Mark Kelly, a first-term Arizona Democrat, is locked in a battle with Republican Blake Masters, a former venture capitalist. Kelly has led in polling throughout the race, but Masters has steadily eroded the incumbent’s advantage. While Kelly appears to remain ahead, the race is still considered extremely close.

In New Mexico, incumbent Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto is being challenged by State Attorney General Adam Laxalt, a Republican. Polling in the race has been relatively sparse, making it difficult to assess any late movement among voters, but Laxalt appears to hold a small lead.

Controversy in Pennsylvania

Possibly the most controversial Senate race in the nation is taking place in Pennsylvania, over Toomey’s empty seat. Lieutenant Gov. John Fetterman is contesting with former television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz. In the early stages of the races, the discussion was dominated by the fact that Oz is a relative newcomer to the state, having lived primarily in neighboring New Jersey until shortly before the election.

However, in May, Fetterman suffered a stroke, leaving him with what the campaign describes as an “auditory processing disorder” that makes it difficult for him to quickly respond to spoken questions. The disorder was evident in a late debate between the two candidates, in which Fetterman plainly struggled to answer some questions.

The Oz campaign and its surrogates have raised questions about Fetterman’s ability to perform the duties of a senator, and in the final weeks of the campaign, polls that had consistently shown Fetterman in the lead have tightened considerably, with some showing Oz in the lead.
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US Candidates Make Final Push Ahead of Midterm Elections

Tuesday’s midterm elections in the United States will determine whether Democrats maintain majorities or if Republicans seize power in the House of Representatives and the Senate, both of which are up for grabs. With some Republican candidates already crying foul on so-called election integrity, nonpartisan groups are keeping a close eye on the process. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.
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Biden, Trump Push Pennsylvania US Senate Candidates Ahead of Midterms

U.S. President Joe Biden told voters in Pennsylvania that a Democratic loss in Tuesday’s midterm elections would have “decades” of consequences, while Republicans including his predecessor Donald Trump predicted a sweeping victory.

The biggest names in U.S. politics — Biden, Trump and former President Barack Obama — visited Pennsylvania on Saturday, hoping to tip the balance in a pivotal midterm Senate race between Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman and Republican celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz.

“Folks, three days, three days until one of the most important elections in our lifetime. The outcome is going to shape our country for decades to come, and the power to shape that outcome is in your hands,” Biden told supporters at Temple University in Philadelphia.

“It’s a choice. A choice between two vastly different visions of America,” he said.

At a rally in Latrobe, southeast of Pittsburgh, Trump listed a litany of grievances with Democrats, ranging from the party’s handling of inflation to education curricula his supporters view as too progressive.

“If you want to stop the destruction of our country and save the American Dream then this Tuesday you must vote Republican in a giant way,” Trump said.

Trump, who sources say is preparing to launch a third consecutive run for the White House, continues to falsely claim that his 2020 defeat by Biden was the result of widespread fraud. Multiple courts, state agencies and members of his own administration have rejected that claim as untrue.

Still, opinion polls show a significant number of Republican voters accept the claim, as do many candidates for Congress, governor and state offices overseeing election administration.

“We are going to take back that beautiful house,” Trump said of the 2024 presidential race.

‘Dangerous climate’

Speaking to supporters in downtown Pittsburgh, Obama warned the politically motivated attack last week on Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, was a product of hateful rhetoric.

“This habit we have of demonizing political opponents, of saying crazy stuff, it creates a dangerous climate,” Obama said, without referencing Republicans directly.

Republicans contend that Democrats have also engaged in political violence, citing the widespread anti-racism protests that rocked the country in 2020. On Sunday, they criticized Democrats for failing to keep their focus on inflation and crime, two of voters’ principal concerns, according to most polls.

In a pair of Saturday morning Twitter posts, Oz criticized Fetterman and Biden for failing to sufficiently support the domestic energy industry and pledged to fight inflation if elected.

“As your next Senator, I will focus on issues that matter to voters in all communities including lowering prices on everything from gas to groceries,” he wrote.

Trump readies another run

Trump, who was in Pennsylvania to boost support for Republican Senate nominee, Oz, and Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano, is also working to maintain his own profile as he contemplates another White House run.

That could set the stage for a Biden-Trump rematch, though some Democrats say heavy losses for Biden’s party Tuesday could increase pressure on the president to step aside and let someone else carry the party’s mantle in 2024.

The Fetterman-Oz Senate race is one of three critical contests, along with Georgia and Nevada, that will determine whether Democrats hold onto their razor-thin majority in the Senate, and with it the power to confirm Biden’s nominees to posts ranging from his Cabinet to the Supreme Court.

Nonpartisan election forecasters and polls show Republicans are heavy favorites to win control of the House, with the Senate a toss-up. Control of even one would give Republicans the power to block Biden’s legislative agenda and launch potentially damaging investigations.

In Philadelphia, Biden warned that Republicans would attack Americans’ Social Security benefits if they won and that they would work to undo recent legislation designed to bring down prescription drug prices.

“They want to get rid of everything we just did,” Biden said.

More than 39 million Americans have already cast ballots, either in person or by mail, according to the U.S. Elections Project. Election officials have warned that it could take days after Tuesday for final results to be clear in closely contested elections, such as the Pennsylvania and Georgia Senate races.

Both parties have lavished attention on Pennsylvania both because of the strategic importance of the race and because of its voters’ history of swinging from one party to the other in the past four presidential elections.

Fetterman held a commanding lead in the race throughout the summer, which Oz has whittled away in the last two months.

Some factors may be local: A stroke this spring forced Fetterman to scale back his campaign schedule and has affected his speech. At a debate last month, he often stumbled over his words, in a performance even allies privately described as shaky.

But Oz’s gains also reflect a nationwide momentum shift in favor of Republicans, as voters’ focus on inflation and crime has proven more durable than concerns about abortion. Democrats’ early lead in several other Senate races, including the contests in Georgia and Nevada, have also shrunk or evaporated completely in recent weeks.
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 VOA Immigration Weekly Recap, Oct. 30–Nov. 5

Editor’s note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com. 

Analysts Don’t Expect Significant Changes in Immigration Policy After the Midterms  

Despite the record influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border and a shortage of workers in the United States, experts believe immigration policy will remain unchanged after the midterm elections. Some experts say that if Republicans take control of Congress, President Joe Biden likely will turn to the administrative process to accomplish any immigration changes. Story by VOA’s immigration reporter Aline Barros. 

US Migrant Busing Highlights Immigration Policies Ahead of Midterms 

Republican governors of Florida and Texas have been trying to highlight the record number of migrants arriving at the southern U.S. border by sending thousands of people seeking political asylum to Washington, New York and other places run by Democrats. Aron Ranen reports from New York City on the bused-in arrivals and their possible political impact ahead of November’s midterm elections. 

Climate Migration: Alaska Village Resists Despite Threats 

Search online for the little town of Shishmaref, and you’ll see homes perilously close to the ocean and headlines that warn this Native community in western Alaska is on the verge of disappearing. Climate change is partially to blame for the rising seas, flooding, erosion and loss of protective ice and land that are threatening this Inupiat village of about 600 people just a few miles from the Arctic Circle. But the dire situation is only part of the story. Report by the Associated Press.  

Texas: What International Migration Means for Its Politics 

Since 2010, the population of the U.S. state of Texas has grown rapidly, including in the Houston metro area, which has seen an influx of migrants from Latin America and Asia. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has more on what draws people to the state and how the newcomers are shaping Texas politics. 

Migration Around the World  

Australia Repatriates 17 Citizens From Syrian Camps  

Four women and 13 children were repatriated to Australia on Saturday, having languished for years in squalid Syrian detention camps after the downfall of the Islamic State. It was the first in a series of planned missions to bring back about 20 Australian women and 40 children — the wives, sons and daughters of vanquished IS fighters — from the notorious al-Hol and Roj camps. Reported by Agence France-Presse.  

Malaysia Mulls Closing UN Refugee Agency Office, Sparking Refoulement Fears 

Malaysia says it is considering plans to shutter the local office of the United Nations’ refugee agency, amid accusations the government is forcibly returning Burmese asylum-seekers who have fled Myanmar for their lives. Reported by Zsombor Peter.  

Ukrainian Refugees Find Work, Shelter in Bulgarian Film Studio 

After fleeing Ukraine following Russia’s invasion, two women found themselves in an unlikely shelter: Nu Boyana Film Studios in Sofia, Bulgaria. Tatiana Vorozhko has the story. VOA footage by Svitlana Koval. Video editing – Kostiantyn Golubchyk. 

News in Brief  

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced limited implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) under the new final rule. “Since its inception in 2012, DACA has allowed over 800,000 young people to remain with their families in the only country many of them have ever known and continue to contribute to their communities in the United States.”
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Where You Eat, Shop, Have Fun Might Determine What Political Ads You See on Social Media

Democrats exclude people who eat at Cracker Barrel, a chain of restaurants with a Southern country theme. Republicans filter out voters who shop at Whole Foods Market, a supermarket chain with a focus on natural and organic foods.

These are two examples of how political campaigns are using people’s eating, shopping and entertainment preferences in hopes of reaching the online audience that’s most receptive to their political message, according to an Axios analysis of political ad data at Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram.

Axios says it analyzed more than 93,000 targeting inputs for paid political ads on Facebook and Instagram.

It found that Democrats were more likely to target fans of National Public Radio, a publicly and privately funded nonprofit media organization with a stated goal of creating a more informed public; Spanish-language outlets like Univision; and people with a general interest in journalism. Republicans, by contrast, were less likely to target potential voters based on their media preferences.

The GOP was more likely to zero in on fans of the reality TV show “Duck Dynasty,” about a family that makes products for duck hunters and is known for their long beards and conservative, evangelical Christian views. Republicans also targeted fans of popular country music singers and Southern celebrity chef Paula Deen. Democrats focused more on fans of singer Lady Gaga and music genres like salsa and hip hop.

In addition to Whole Foods, Republicans also nixed people who shop at Trader Joe’s, a grocery chain known for unique and eclectic offerings at reasonable prices, opting instead to target fans of Chick-fil-A, a popular fast-food restaurant whose chief executive officer has made statements opposing same-sex marriage in the past.

“We used to actually be able to get even more narrow and be able to target people by race or by partisanship, and so that has all been taken away, so these interest targets are now just a proxy for what has previously been done,” says Megan Clasen, a digital marketing consultant who worked on both Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns.

“It has more risks when you’re running a persuasion campaign. When you’re making assumptions about how people’s interests impact their political views, you might be leaving people out who could potentially be with you, just because they shop at certain places or watch a certain show.”

Digital marketers had to get more creative with targeting last year, after public outcry prompted Meta to stop allowing advertisers to target their ads using factors such as people’s race, sexual orientation and political or religious views.

“Facebook had tons and tons of data on what people’s preferences and likes were. So, if people liked Republican pages or if they liked Democrat pages, if they liked Republican politicians, if they liked Democrat politicians, if they signed up for pro-life [anti-abortion] groups, or if they signed up for groups associated with pro-choice [pro-abortion rights], or Second Amendment [gun rights], or anti-tax groups,” says Tyler Brown, former director of digital strategy at the Republican National Committee (RNC). “So, Facebook also became a provider of what we would call third party data. And the value for advertisers was that it was extremely robust and thorough.”

Without that valuable Meta data, political operatives zeroed in on consumer preferences to reach certain parts of the electorate. While Republicans targeted people who shop at stores selling outdooring gear, Democrats focused on fans of Nordstrom, a luxury department store chain; Lululemon, a higher-end athleisure brand; and Zara, a retailer of inexpensive trendy clothes.

While the two major political parties often seem to be targeting two different Americas, there were some commonalities. For example, both targeted Walmart shoppers.

Clasen believes in casting a wider net when it comes to digital marketing.

“Oftentimes, when we’re trying to persuade people, we’re sort of talking to people who land in the middle — maybe they don’t really identify as super liberal or super conservative,” she says. “So, I think we have to be careful about using those types of inclusions or exclusions in our targeting when we’re trying to persuade broader groups of voters.”

Republicans were more likely than Democrats to focus on sports fans, including hunters and people who follow NASCAR auto racing. Democrats tended to exclude deer hunters and car racing fans from seeing their digital ads.

“They’re trying to be more targeting than running blanket ads, but there is some risk that they are losing people in the gaps,” Brown says. “NASCAR has a large supporter base. It’s very possible that many Democrats are supporters of NASCAR, but [digital ad consultants] are trying to make bets that, on the whole, they’re targeting more of their supporters. And they’re making the assumption that that is a better targeting method than simply targeting a geographic area.”

Both Brown and Clasen say this type of targeting can sow division on the internet, especially with Facebook’s algorithm already filtering posts so that people are seeing content that they’re most likely to engage with.

“That obviously is already creating a lot of polarization in social media environments,” Clasen says. “So it’s sort of contributing to that continued impact, if people are really only seeing things that they are likely to already agree with versus seeing different opinions that they aren’t used to being exposed to.”

Politicization of commercial brands is also leading to increased polarization in American society, Brown says.

“I think that we are seeing a divide take place, culturally, in terms of, not just the media we consume, but the brands we choose to support,” Brown says. “The reason that the American democracy experiment was so successful for so long, was that while people may have different policy preferences, they operated from the same shared sense of values and worldview … And I think that as those people are separating themselves into different camps, that even those values and worlds and perspectives are coming into question and are being undercut.”
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