KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The presidential election is nine days away. Both candidates are campaigning across the country, with the Democratic and Republican campaign networks reaching out to voters any way they can.
Buddy Burkhardt, the chairman of the Knox County Republican Party, said he's been knocking on doors and holding public meetings. One piece of feedback he's received is that voters are tired of automated political ad calls.
"Whether it's carpet sales, or car people, or politics: If I don't sign up for your service, to receive your messages, I really don't – it just annoys me, my phone rings enough," Burkhardt said.
He said the Knox County Republican party doesn't use automated messaging systems, but the combination of local, state and national elections has caused campaign outreach efforts to overlap.
As part of the local party's effort to meet folks one-on-one, he's delivered 200 Trump yard signs. Attendees at the party's last meeting took between 200-300 to distribute, he said.
Stuart Hohl, the chairman of the Knox County Democratic Party, said his party has a similar strategy.
"We like the genuine conversations we can have when we're face-to-face or even just the fact that you're talking to someone locally," Hohl said.
He said personal conversation, even over the phone, can make talking about politics easier. Politics isn't top of mind for many people, and the current atmosphere has bred a distaste for those conversations.
The Knox County Democratic party also doesn't use automated messaging systems. What it does use is publicly available voter registration records and other data, he said.
"In August for the District 3 school board race, we had volunteers make 1,001 phone calls trying to get out the vote in the last three days of that election. That race was decided by about 250 votes. So, we know when neighbors are talking to neighbors, that it can make a real difference," he said.
Cell phone data-tracking firm Whistle Out recently published data that said Americans receive billions of automated robocalls per year. Tennessee ranked as one of the highest states for the number of calls per resident, with an average of 238.