GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. The pandemic has made efforts to get out the vote difficult for both parties, but Democrats and Republicans are still hitting the street when they can. And using tech to get people registered and educated.

The standard, golden rule in politics is theres no substitute for door-to-door canvassing, for talking to voters face-to-face, said Gary Stark, chair of the Kent County Democrats, and we always think we can do that. But were all facing the same kinds of constraints.

Both the Democratic party and GOP have their own registration websites. Theyve been around for a while, but their importance is renewed this year with the pandemic hampering efforts to door-to-door canvass.

Were getting out how we can, obviously you have to do it very carefullyyou have to do it with masks and distance and being respectful of people who want to keep their distance, said Joel Freeman, chair of the Kent GOP. So its kind of an all-of-the-above approach this year but yes, certainly going digital and going by mail is a much bigger factor this year.

We have been reluctant to [canvass] because of the governors guidelines and the dangers of that and the uncertainty of how that would be received, said Stark. Many people dont want people strangers knocking on their door.

See original here:

Dems, GOP relying on tech to register voters this fall - Fox17