On its own, that cannot come close to flipping a state that went for Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 by about 80,000 votes.

Of course, the Amish are hardly the only religious or ethnic constituency being courted by candidates. “In a context where every vote counts, every vote counts,” Nolt said. “But no, we’re not talking tens of thousands of Amish votes.”

Still, Smucker is optimistic about a larger turnout. He said Republican messages resonate with a changing Amish community.

“It was once more agrarian, but they’ve long ago run out of land in Lancaster County,” he said. Only a minority are still in farming, with many starting small businesses, where the Republican emphasis on limited regulation is appealing. Plus, he said, the Amish community perceives Republicans as more friendly to religious liberty and opposed to abortion.

He said Amish tell stories of how their forebears were more likely to vote in the 1950s during controversies about compulsory school policies, but the practice has decreased since then.

Wayne Wengerd, Ohio state director of the Amish Steering Committee, which navigates relations between Amish community leaders and government officials, recalls registration efforts as far back as the 1960s. Get-out-the-vote activists are “going to go after everyone and anyone they think they could possibly convince to vote for their party,” he said. “The Amish are no different.”

Amish theology keeps the church separate from government

But most Amish avoid voting in keeping with “two-kingdom” theology, which puts a stark separation between earthly government and the church with its focus on a heavenly kingdom. They see themselves “being citizens primarily in another kingdom,” Wengerd said.

But, he noted, some still vote. “The Amish are just like any other people,” he said. “Not everyone thinks the same.”

Rural Lancaster County has for generations voted Republican, Nolt said, and so it’s also not surprising that any Amish who do vote would be influenced by their neighbors’ preferences. Most Amish voters register as Republicans, he said. .

An ad in a Lancaster-area newspaper, attributed to an anonymous “Amishman” from Ohio, said refusing to vote would violate Scripture by failing to “stand against evil” while “every good thing our nation stands for is destroyed.” A voicemail message seeking comment, left with the phone number on the ad, wasn’t returned.

Nolt said that ad is appealing to a theology more similar to that of mainstream Reformed Protestantism, which says Christians have a duty both to God and country, than to traditional Amish two-kingdom theology.

“It’s very different than anything in historic Amish documents, which would have said responsibility of the church is to be the church,” he said.

Nolt said a letter being sent to Amish residents did call for voting Republican but didn’t appear aimed at the Amish in particular, citing such issues as immigration.

The widespread support for Trump among conservative Christians of many types has long perplexed observers, given his casino ventures, allegations of sexual assault and vulgar public statements.

Nolt, however, said that compared with the Amish’s separatist lifestyles, neither presidential candidate looks much like them — one reason most of them don’t vote. “Donald Trump’s life is very different from an Amish person’s life, but so is Kamala Harris’,” he said.

Faith & Freedom is active in every battleground state, but its most aggressive efforts are in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and North Carolina. Nationwide, the group says it has surpassed 7 million door knocks, and expects to reach its goal of knocking on 10 million doors, or visiting around 18 million voters, by Nov. 2 — 20% of which will be minority households, accomplished in part by partnering with Hispanic evangelical pastors and churches.

In Pennsylvania, the survey the group conducts is simple, asking three questions: Does the individual plan to vote; what issue is most important to them this election from a list that includes the economy, border security, and pro-life issues; and whether they plan to vote in person, by mail, or by early voting. For the second question, Merola says most people they encounter this cycle name the border or the economy as their top issues.

“I’ve met people who are pro-life, people who are pro-choice or pro-abortion, but it’s not their number one issue,” according to Merola. “It’s the economy or jobs, it’s inflation, it’s the border, it’s immigration. Those are the big ones.”

The leaflet they hand out in Pennsylvania is double-sided, with one side comparing Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and the other comparing Senate candidates Bob Casey Jr. and Dave McCormick on issues like “federal abortion on demand law,” the “southern border wall,” “Medicare For All,” and “boys competing in girls’ sports.”

The canvassing I watched was neighborhood-based and only skipped homes where no one was listed as a registered voter. The area was red, but Merola said they were visiting Democrats, Republicans, independents, and even the occasional Green Party member — whoever they encountered.

One person who answered the door described himself as an independent, repeatedly saying that he wouldn’t reveal who he planned to vote for. Most of his criticism during the conversation, in which he said border security was the top issue, was directed at Harris.

“I will say — I won’t mention party or candidate — I think more people who are on the bubble in the center or who might be center-left are shifting more to the right than the opposite,” Merola said, citing his encounters at doors this cycle. “They believe that there’s a better opportunity to access the American dream. That’s where they’re at.”

Out in Pennsylvania, a state that both parties see as crucial in deciding the election, Faith & Freedom’s 350-plus staffers and volunteers are roughly 50,000 shy of reaching their goal of passing out 550,000 fliers in English, and are hoping to pass out 200,000 bilingual Hispanic versions by election day, according to Merola. In the post-COVID era, one big challenge is that people don’t want to answer their doors as often. (During my time shadowing Merola, one woman briefly spoke to us through her second-floor window. Many other door knocks went unanswered.)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kamala Harris said Sunday that “no one can sit on the sidelines” in this year’s presidential election, capping a day of campaigning across the largest city in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania.

Watch Harris’ remarks in the player above.

“We are focused on the future and we are focused on the needs of the American people,” Harris said, “as opposed to Donald Trump, who spends full time looking in the mirror focused on himself.”

Speaking at a city recreation center, the Democratic vice president singled out young voters, praising them for being “rightly impatient for change,” and told the audience that “there is too much at stake” in the campaign.

“We must not wake up the day after the election and have any regret about what we could have done in these next nine days,” Harris said.

Mark Ruffalo and Don Cheadle, two actors who starred in Marvel’s “Avengers” movies, were at the rally. Harris reminded the crowd that Pennsylvania’s deadline for early voting is Tuesday, telling them to “get it done tomorrow if you can.”

Energizing voters in Philadelphia, a traditional Democratic stronghold, is crucial for Harris’ chances of beating Republican nominee Donald Trump. If turnout falls short here, she’ll struggle to overcome Trump’s advantages in Pennsylvania’s rural areas.

WATCH: On campaign blitz in Philadelphia, Harris says U.S. is ‘determined to turn the page’ on hate and division

“Philadelphia is a very important part of our path to victory,” Harris told reporters. “It’s the reason I have been spending time here. But I’m feeling very optimistic about the enthusiasm.”

Kenny Payne, 62, said Harris is going to win and “it won’t be close.” The Democratic voter said he plays golf with a group of Republicans who say they won’t vote for Trump again.

“I think we’ll all be in bed by midnight,” he said outside the recreation center where Harris spoke.

Patrick Boe, 46, said he was confident about the city’s enthusiasm for Harris, but he acknowledged that his view may be skewed.

“I’m in a bubble here,” Boe said.

Randyll Butler, a youth basketball coach who introduced Harris, said the election was in the “fourth quarter.”

“We cannot get tired,” she said. “We cannot get complacent.”

Harris and Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor who is her running mate, are expected to visit all seven battleground states in the coming days, part of a final blitz before the election.

WATCH: Walz gives remarks on reproductive rights at campaign event in Las Vegas

While Harris was in Philadelphia on Sunday, Walz was campaigning in Las Vegas. On Monday, Walz will visit Manitowoc and Waukesha, Wisconsin, before joining Harris for a rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the singer Maggie Rogers is scheduled to perform.

Harris will be in the nation’s capital on Tuesday to deliver what her campaign calls her “closing argument” in a speech from the Ellipse, a grassy space near the White House. It’s the same place where Trump spoke on Jan. 6, 2021, when the Republican called on his supporters to march on the Capitol.

More campaign stops are scheduled in Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona.

Megerian reported from Washington.