A Californian knocked on the door of a house in Summerlin and received no answer.

“I usually wait about a minute,” said the 24-year-old. He spent hours under the scorching Las Vegas sun collecting votes.

Sterling Raiklen is one of seven men in their 20s who moved to Nevada from out of state after seeing an online ad for a political volunteer position.

Now they all live together in a house in North Las Vegas they call the “Nevada House.” They are part of the organization Progressive Victory, a political community built “by the Internet, for the Internet,” as the group’s website states.

By going door-to-door, the MPs hope to reach young voters and find out what they think, Raiklen explained between the doorsteps.

But while studies show experts believe traditional door-to-door canvassing is the most effective way to reach voters, some young organizers say door-knocking is not as effective at reaching young people as online interactions.

Online and offline engagement

While research on the best ways to reach voters hasn’t quite kept pace with the rise of social media, said Kenneth Miller, assistant professor of political science at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, the results “support the basic truth that talking to someone is more effective.”

However, safety concerns and the importance of reaching young people where they are – online – have led Youth Voice of Nevada members to turn their attention away from voter outreach.

“Everyone has a screen with internet access,” says Drake York, 22, president of Youth Voice of Nevada. “Social media is more effective.”

York also believes that young people today may not want to open the door when a stranger comes. “People are cautious these days,” he says.

But Rafael Arroyo, the Republican candidate for Nevada State Assembly’s 41st district, said it was important to him that his young volunteers go out and knock on doors to have conversations that are not possible any other way.

Importance of human connections

Zoe Babcock, 17, said she has a lot of experience in door-to-door service, both for nonprofits she has worked for in the past and as a senior intern for Arroyo’s campaign.

She believes that connecting with young people online “can be a little more productive,” she says, “because you can talk to a lot of people much faster.”

However, Babcock acknowledged that many people do not read the mass SMS messages sent as part of text banking programs.

“It’s not the same as talking to them in person,” she said.

On a hot, overcast day in August, Babcock was outside collecting votes with her 14-year-old little sister, volunteer Max Maroe, 18, and Arroyo.

Maroe met Babcock when she was running a stand for his brand of hot sauce. When she mentioned that she would be knocking on doors a few days later, Maroe decided to join in.

“This is new, but I’m used to talking to people,” he said.

When the group reached the first house, a pensioner opened the door. He knew Arroyo and had voted for him in the primaries after campaigning at his home.

The man told the group of young election workers about the experiences of his father, who lost his income under communism in Vietnam after 1975.

Arroyo said that while such interactions are rare, they are “the best” because they allow his volunteers to learn firsthand about interventions that are relevant to them.

Highlighting the problems

Neither Progressive Victory nor Youth Voice for Nevada currently endorses candidates, preferring to focus on substantive issues. It is also important for Arroyo’s campaign to explore the issues that matter to voters.

This is especially crucial when it comes to attracting young voters, said Babcock, who tend to be less loyal to the party and more focused on the issues that affect them.

Understanding the issues facing young people in America is also the foundation of Youth Voice of Nevada’s mission.

The group wants to know how young people have been let down and what is important to them, explained 23-year-old Millan “Mack” Gledhill, the group’s vice president.

Their work is about “reaching out to young people genuinely rather than just paying them lip service,” he said.

For the same reason, Progressive Victory went out to canvass for votes in early July, Raiklen explained.

“It’s still very early to be going door-to-door,” Miller said, because door-to-door campaigning is usually about mobilizing voters rather than having broader conversations about their concerns.

Do young people open the door?

Of the five houses on a block in Summerlin that Raiklen headed to, only two people answered the door, and only one person stepped out into the heat to talk.

When a college student told Raiklen that she didn’t care whether she wanted to run in the election because of the poor candidate selection, Raiklen said he understood the apathy.

“I’m a young person myself and I get very frustrated when it comes to voting,” said Raiklen, who is deputy national director of Progressive Victory. After a few minutes of conversation, he said, “Basically, it comes down to feeling like you’re seeing the same thing over and over again.”

But since President Joe Biden dropped out and Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee, Raiklen said he has noticed a change. “The people at the doors are full of energy,” Raiklen wrote in a statement. “People are super excited and so are we!”

Raiklen said the conversation with the student provided an insightful look into the mind of a young voter. And while Arroyo’s ticket doesn’t target young voters as specifically as Progressive Victory’s, it’s rare for a young voter to come to her door, Babcock said.

But the connection voters feel when talking to someone on the campaign trail can be replicated in other ways, organizers said.

Babcock said it’s important to be aware of how campaigns interact with voters on social media.

“I’m currently seeing politicians reacting to people’s Instagram stories, commenting on their posts, following them,” Babcock said. “All of those things can have just as much impact as a face-to-face conversation.”

Although young political organizers disagree on the best method to reach their peers, they all said that as young people they have an advantage when it comes to reaching this voting base.

Contact Estelle Atkinson at [email protected]. Follow @estelleatkinsonreports on Instagram and @estellelilym on X.