Workers Say They Were Tricked and Threatened as Part of Elon Musk’s Get-Out-the-Vote Effort

The video from wrong the van shows a bumpy ride, with a cage separating the mostly Black doorway knockers from their driver. The operator besides told the radical of doorway knockers that helium was successful symptom and had trouble driving: “I conscionable had surgery, bro,” the U-Haul operator says successful different signaling obtained by WIRED. “Like fractional of my ft is chopped off.”

“I’m scared,” the doorway knocker who spoke to WIRED replies connected the recording.

“And each [the manager] is acrophobic astir is however galore motherfuckin’ doors the bitch got,” the operator responds.

The canvassers were past dropped disconnected astir 40 minutes isolated from each other, relying connected the mobile app to log their interactions astatine beforehand doors.

In a declaration statement reviewed by WIRED, doorway knockers were fixed circumstantial “performance guidelines” on with a mandate to “keep the GPS relation of their idiosyncratic instrumentality turned connected during each moving hours.” Each sound astatine the doorway indispensable beryllium done successful 15 seconds oregon less, and the contractors “must stay connected a spot for astatine slightest 30 seconds.”

The Campaign Sidekick app utilized by America PAC has terrible limitations successful its functionality, including the deficiency of a geo-tracking feature—hence the request that canvassers permission GPS services connected for their idiosyncratic devices astatine each times, according to a declaration reviewed by WIRED—forcing them to usage “offline walkbooks,” a relation of the America PAC app, that don’t connection the enactment of GPS oregon real-time upload capabilities.

While this peculiar radical of doorway knockers was being managed done Blitz Canvassing, screenshots shared with WIRED amusement America PAC listed successful the mobile app they were utilizing to sound connected doors.

“Recommended attire includes a reddish polo garment with khaki pants oregon jeans, and closed-toed shoes,” the “attire” conception of the declaration reads. “Clothing with graffiti, writing, oregon ripped jeans/shorts is not allowed.”