WV:
"Republicans claim that Democrats suffer an intensity gap by relying more on hired help. "You can’t buy love," Republican National Chairman Ed Gillespie said.
But you can send it over the Internet. Bush’s campaign corresponds regularly with 6 million supporters via e-mail, who then take national talking points to their neighborhoods or share them online through "virtual precincts."
"We have a large group of committed volunteers who go out every day to their friends and neighbors to try to communicate their views," Nelson said.
Both the Republican and Democratic Parties in West Virginia have dramatically increased their use of e-mail as a means of communication and fundraising.
As early as 18 months ago, the state Democratic Party didn’t have an e-mail database, Scarbro said. Now they have a database packed with 7,000 e-mails of state residents. In addition to door-to-door solicitations and phone calls, Democratic workers also pursue voters in cyberspace, he said.
"We use that network to notify people about events and to notify them about issues," Scarbro said. "They are good fundraising tools to quickly and cheaply make a last minute pitch for extra help on a project."
The Internet has helped the Democrats better compete with Republicans in raising funds, he said.
The West Virginia Republican Party communicated about events and other information among members three years ago largely by paying postage for a newsletter, said Kris Warner, West Virginia Republican Party chairman. Since then, the party has also amassed a large e-mail database, which saves time and money.
"Essentially every message with the team leaders is via the Internet," Warner said.
The push to get voters to come out isn’t limited to simply making contact and disseminating information. The Huntington chapter of the NAACP will get people to the polls on election day in style. The NAACP and OVEC will provide shuttle buses and even limousines to the polls for people in the Fairfield West neighborhood.
"We hope to have a large turnout," said Sylvia Ridgeway, president of the Huntington NAACP. "The word is out and people know how important this election is."
Between now and the election, voters can expect to see what the people of Portsmouth, Ohio, saw last week when canvassers for America Coming Together, who are paid $8 to $10 an hour, walked through a neighborhood carrying $200 Tungsten handheld computers. They found Angela Leedom, whose husband was laid off last year from his utility lineman job and is working in Florida after the hurricanes. Leedom told ACT worker Carissa McCann, "Bush had his chance. We’re voting Kerry."
"Wonderful," replied McCann, a Shawnee State University student, recording the Leedom names in her computer.
On Nov. 2, Leedom can expect to get another call or visit -- even a ride to the polls."
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/2004/October/24/LNspot.htm
Blog speculation:
"GOP GOTV vs. ACT and Moveon.org: The GOP has made enormous strides in its grassroots organization since the last presidential election. The 72-hour task force has transformed Republican get-out-the-vote efforts. I have held the opinion throughout this election cycle that these advances will be a huge factor this year. For a generation, Democratic special interests such as labor unions and African-American activist organizations have honed and developed a magnificent turnout machine. Until 2002, this juggernaut was met by a lot of commercials and automated phone calls from the GOP. The result was a consistent ground game advantage for the Democrats on election day. All that changed in 2002. The Republican party finally realized that it would be harder and harder to compete without fielding its own army of volunteers. The result: Election night in 2002 was a very good night for me and my fellow GOPers. Did the GOP GOTV match the Democrats on the street? It doesn't really matter. What matters is that it competed, and in competing won the day. 2004 will be the first presidential election in which the GOP will actually compete in the GOTV ground game. I believe this will be a tremendous advantage for President Bush. It could very well be the story of the election. The only thing that might negate or diminish its effect is the millions upon millions being poured into this race by Democratic 527's such as Americans Coming Together and Moveon.org. Their activity this year is unparalleled in election history, as far as I know, and could serve as a counterweight to the GOP's newfound GOTV strength. Potential advantage: Bush or Kerry"
http://www.electionprojection.com/archives100104.html
Another blog:
" Want to Gauge GOP Turnout on 11-2? Look at Coloardo on 9-21!
Why Colorado on 9-21? This was the first time the GOP tried out its new 72-hour get-out-the-vote program. In the GOP primary, Peter Coors faced Bob Schaffer; in the Democratic primary, Ken Salazar faced Mike Miles.
This was a competitive primary for both parties, and it was a primary for an open senate seat both parties coveted and thought (and continue to think) they can win. Both primary races were roughly competitive. Neither race was close. Salazar took 73% of the Democrat vote, Coors took 60%.
Thus, we would expect both sides to participate equally enthusiastically.
The results?
237,140 Democrats voted. 335,431 Republicans voted.
In the whole state, there are 1,012,518 registered Republicans, 841,997 registered Democrats.
Republican turnout: 33.1%
Democrat turnout: 28.1%
This is a greater victory for the GOP than just the 5% indicates. The GOP and the Democratic party are roughly equally strong in the state. Same resources, some bureaucracy, etc. Both parties were equally interested in this campaign; the GOP believes it can hold the seat, the Democratic Party believes it can steal it. The GOP managed to mobilize a significantly larger base by a significantly larger percentage. What's more, the Democrats are more experienced and better organized at executing get-out-the-vote efforts.
Again, Colorado is significant to examine because it is the place where the GOP attempted its new-and-improved GOTV program."
http://jaycost.blogspot.com/2004/10/want-to-gauge-gop-turnout-on-11-2-look.html