Canvassing
Encyclopedia
Canvassing is the systematic initiation of direct contact with a target group of individuals commonly used during political campaign
Political campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...

s. A campaign team (and during election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...

s a candidate) will knock on doors of private residences within a particular geographic area, engaging in face-to-face personal interaction with voters. Canvassing may also be performed by telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...

, where it is referred to as telephone canvassing. The main purpose of canvassing is to perform voter identification – to poll how individuals are planning to vote – rather than to argue with or persuade voters. This preparation is an integral part of a 'get out the vote
Get out the vote
"Get out the vote" are terms used to describe two categories of political activity, both aimed at increasing the number of votes cast in one or more elections.- Non-partisan contexts :...

' operation, in which known supporters are contacted on polling day and reminded to cast their ballot.

Similar techniques may be used by non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

s, labor unions, religious denomination
Religious denomination
A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.The term describes various Christian denominations...

s such as the Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...

, poll takers, and even commercial enterprises such as door-to-door salespeople.

Purposes of canvassing

The above qualification notwithstanding, canvassing may be performed to achieve a combination of the following objectives. For example, a canvass focused on persuading people to vote for a particular candidate or ballot issue may also solicit funds and sign up new members to an organization:
  • Identifying supporters (voter identification or voter ID) in preparation for a Get out the vote
    Get out the vote
    "Get out the vote" are terms used to describe two categories of political activity, both aimed at increasing the number of votes cast in one or more elections.- Non-partisan contexts :...

     (GOTV) operation.
  • Performing GOTV during an election, known as 'knocking up'
  • Distributing information and printed materials
  • Winning individuals by persuasion
  • Fundraising
  • Signing up new members
  • Voter registration
  • Educational Campaigning
  • Campaign/Issue Visibility


Canvassing and GOTV

A key concept in canvassing is to target the population that is being contacted. For example, if the goal of a canvass is to turn out voters on election day for a Democratic candidate, then knocking on Republican doors may not be a great use of time and resources. Targeting can be quite complex and sophisticated and may employ voting history data, census data, and consumer habits. Part of an overall field strategy may be to do a canvass focussed on identifying likely supporters who will then be approached at a later date by another canvass for GOTV. Even if sophisticated data is not available, most field operations professionals will spend energy trying to reduce randomness in their contacts in an attempt to optimize their use of time and resources.

Role of canvassing in persuasion

While converting voters would ideally be a central goal, it is difficult, requiring knowledgeable and charismatic canvassers, and time-consuming. To reach every voter in a district a canvasser cannot spend more than one or two minutes per person, rarely enough time to have a significant discussion. Persuasion canvassing will often involve the dropping of literature and campaign marketing materials like lawn signs, window signs, and bumper stickers (given to supporters). As canvassers work a population they will often make careful notes and use classification codes to record their interaction with the public.

Field canvasses

Field canvasses are done by going door to door to every home and apartment in a district, a ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

 or some other unit of geographic measurement. They have the advantage that people are generally more open to talking to someone in person and literature can be delivered and lawn sign
Lawn sign
Lawn signs are used for local advertising. They can be used by business such as real estate and are popular in election campaigns in some countries. They are small signs that can be placed on the property of a business or on the lawns of a candidate's supporters...

s put up at the same time as the canvass. A field canvass can also guarantee completeness as each house can be accounted for. A field canvass is usually done by one or two individuals, either both at one door, or one on each side of the street.

For Contractors utilizing "Field Canvassing" it works best when working around a current or previous jobsite. Otherwise called Jobsite Radiation.

On election day itself a Party will often visit the homes of known supports asking them to vote, this process is often referred to as 'Knocking up'.

Candidate canvasses

A variation of the field canvass is a candidate canvass; these are done with the actual candidate in a district. With only one candidate, however, time is a valuable commodity. The candidate is thus usually accompanied by a half dozen or more volunteers who knock on doors. If they find no one home, the candidate does not go to that home. If they find a person, the volunteer finds out if they would like to meet the candidate. If they would, the volunteer signals the candidate.

Phone canvasses

Canvassing can also be done by telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...

 by activists who will be working from a script. The following is an excerpt from a script used by the UK Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 in the build up to a general election:
Hello, can I speak to (voter's name) please? Hello (voter's name) my name is (name). I'm calling on behalf of (MP/parliamentary spokesperson). I'm calling to find out your views on the Labour government's priorities. Which of the following do you think are the three most important priorities for the government? [Lists five policy areas – 'better schools', 'better hospitals', 'more jobs', 'less crime' and 'strong economy'] Let me tell you what Labour is doing in these areas and what the Tories would do if they were re-elected [refers to 'dividing lines' table where Conservative policies are compared unfavourably with Labour]. Now can I ask you which party you think you will vote for at the next general election?


The script then divides into two sections based on whether the voter intends to support Labour or another party. The section for Labour supporters encourages the use of postal votes, asks whether the individual would consider displaying a poster in their window or deliver leaflets on their street and asks whether the individual would consider joining the party. The section for non-Labour voters asks the following questions: This sample script is also representative of elections in the United States, in which a volunteer might ask, "if the election for (congress, governor, president, etc) were held today, would you vote for (Candidate A) or (Candidate B)?
  1. Which main political party do you identify with?
  2. There will be elections in (date), which party will you vote for at these elections?
  3. How did you vote in the last general election?
  4. Who would be your second choice?
  5. Do you vote at every election?


The script concludes by thanking the voter before ending the call.

Paid canvassing

While canvassing is often performed by unpaid volunteers, many organizations and campaigns may also hire paid canvassers. This allows organizations to reach a larger number of people by hiring and training a dependable staff. While many organizations recognize the importance of paid canvassers, usually they are not paid a living wage. Job security may also be limited by short canvass cycles, often taking place before elections or in months with uncomfortable weather. Some organizations, such as the AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...

, may have year-round, permanent canvassing offices. Depending on the difficulty of the required tasks and the level of pay, these positions often have a high turnover rate. Some employees of advocacy groups and political campaigns may be required to canvass as part of their larger job requirements, in order to supplement canvassing staff. However, some individuals do work full-time as canvassers. Some canvassers, including those employed by the Fund for the Public Interest, have been blocked in their attempts to unionize in order to receive better wages and benefits.

Disadvantages of canvassing

While canvassing can be productive, it also is likely to frustrate many would-be voters. If constituents are contacted too often, they may feel that their privacy is threatened. The fact that annoyed constituents lash out at canvassers is a reason to the high turnover rate for canvassing positions. Canvassers are informed during initial training that "No Soliciting" signs hold no legal power in most communities, and canvassers are taught to ignore such signs.

While ignoring "No Soliciting" signs may make sense from a political and legal standpoint, some constituents are offended by canvassers disregard for posted "rules". A combination of too much contact and disregard for social rules can lead to many would-be voters choosing not to vote or even voting for a less annoying political party or individual.

Some areas have a low density of targets. Campaigns will typically try to canvass higher density areas by foot, but lower density areas may require canvassers with cars or for the campaign to skip those areas altogether. The standard measure of canvass target density used by campaigns is the Stoddard
Stoddard
-People:*Bob Stoddard, major league baseball pitcher*Charles Warren Stoddard, American author*Elizabeth Drew Stoddard, American poet and novelist*Howard J. Stoddard, American banker*James Stoddard , American fantasy author...

, or targets per acre. Typically campaigns will try to canvass areas with a Stoddard of 10 or higher.

See also

  • Get out the vote
    Get out the vote
    "Get out the vote" are terms used to describe two categories of political activity, both aimed at increasing the number of votes cast in one or more elections.- Non-partisan contexts :...

  • Political campaigning
  • List of democracy and elections-related topics
  • Leaflet distribution
  • Direct marketing
    Direct marketing
    Direct marketing is a channel-agnostic form of advertising that allows businesses and nonprofits to communicate straight to the customer, with advertising techniques such as mobile messaging, email, interactive consumer websites, online display ads, fliers, catalog distribution, promotional...

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