Amid new high-tech campaign apps, Democrats in Georgia go old school

This midterm election, Georgia Republicans are launching their most sophisticated ground game yet in the state -- with new technology that gives door-knockers instant info on who has voted and who needs a nudge to the polls.

All 5,000 volunteers are using the app on their smartphones or tablets, an effort that was launched by the national party a year ago and now is playing a key role in the final week of the razor-tight campaigns for Senate and governor.

Democrats, meanwhile, have gone old school.

On the streets of Atlanta and elsewhere in the Peach State, Democratic canvassers are ditching the whiz-bang digital world for a decidedly old-fashioned one: paper “walk sheets” with lists of voters they need to push to the polls.

Strategists for the Democrats, who pioneered the apps, say the online apps still play a roll, but with the onslaught of 8,000 volunteers -- some older or less tech-savvy -- the new system can be more trouble than it’s worth.

Taking pen to paper, and scratching off voters once they’ve voted, seems to get the job done just as well.

Republicans beg to differ.

The GOP has launched the largest get-out-the-vote effort the party in Georgia has ever seen, said spokesman Ryan Mahoney.

“The party knows to compete, you have to have real-time technology -- and use it,” he said.

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