The embarrassing data breach that led to the illegal disclosure of the private information of more than 6 million Georgia voters also brought to the surface the methods used by political parties in the ceaseless battle to pinpoint which voters they need to win.
The state's Democratic and Republican parties mine the monthly data — which, aside from last month's mishap, is scrubbed of confidential information — to hone in on political targets. It's an indispensable trove of information that identifies who votes, what parties they're likely to support and where they live.
The parties use the data as a starting point to target their most likely supporters, as well as others who are on the fence. In last year’s elections, the information provided a foundation that tablet-toting canvassers and voter-outreach coordinators used to register voters and then push them toward the polls.
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