Canvassing tips

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Canvass Tips

Knocking on doors is easy, fun, and rewarding—when you canvass, you are a local opinion leader! Best of all, it is the most powerful form of political communication. Here are some tips to
get you started.

1. When you are canvassing:

•Wear comfortable shoes!
•Bring water
•Don’t leave any information in someone’s mailbox – postal service regulations don’t allow it. Instead, find another place to leave the literature
•NEVER try to convince someone you are right and they are wrong. We’ll never gain support trying to convince people they are wrong.
•Don’t enter the home of someone you don’t know
•If you aren’t comfortable walking up to a particular house, skip it. Safety comes first!

2. What do I need to talk to my neighbors?

•Your printed walk packet, which usually includes a map of your neighborhood
•Literature supplied by a campaign
•Script supplied by campaign
•Pencil/Pen
•Something to carry your materials with (clipboard/bag)

3. Why do I need to record information and ask questions on the script?

•When you record the information, it allows the campaign to do later follow-up work with the voter, whether that is sending a follow-up piece of mail, a phone call, or an additional door visit. By returning this information, you help make our campaigns more effective and efficient.

4. What happens if someone asks me a question that I don’t know the answer to?

•It is ok to say you don’t know – no one will expect you to be an expert on the issues. Flyers will help, if they contain a website address or phone number. You can always tell the voter that someone will get back to them, and mark that information on your sheet.

5. My neighbor and I don’t get along so well/There’s a dog guarding the door/I can’t make it up the front steps. What should I do?

•Although it is really important to contact the voters on your list, we shouldn’t talk to people you can’t realistically talk to for one reason or another. Remember, safety comes first.

6. Why is canvassing the most important thing we can do to win elections?

•Extensive research has proven that face-to-face voter contact is the most effective way to convince voters to vote for Democrats. No other method, be it television, mail, phone calls, or the Internet comes close.