Canvassing

If you have completed the video series and an interactive workshop, you’re ready to start. It’s time to put your conversation canvassing skills into action!   

You’ll be working with your local team to do this. Contact us at CCNH if you need help connecting with a team.

(If you’ve arrived at this point and don’t feel quite ready, you may wish to watch some of the videos again. Episodes 4, 5, and 6 are likely to be most helpful. Remember that you can also request additional role-playing practice sessions at any time.)

Your local team will decide together on the issue that will drive your canvassing efforts and agree on the conversation guide or “script” to be used. For more information on how to choose, adapt, or develop your guide, see Conversation Guide Basics. For background information on a variety of Granite State and national issues, see Issue Resources.

Ready to start? Here’s a checklist for conducting your canvass:

MATERIALS: Gathering your materials helps make the activity more concrete and helps you visualize yourself at doors. 

You will supply:

• MiniVAN downloaded on your smartphone
• Equipment for making notes outside MiniVAN: This may be a small notebook or file cards and a writing utensil—or you may prefer to use a notes app on your phone
• Water, snacks if you wish
• Bag, backpack, or pocket to carry your stuff

Your team leader will supply:

• Turf number to put into the MiniVAN app. A “turf” is a designated area, with addresses (or “doors”) identified for canvassing. A typical turf has 15-35 doors. 
• Information for voters on how to register in the town where you’re canvassing

Optional, from team leader:

• Conversation Guide in printed form. The basic points will appear in MinVAN, but at the beginning you may wish to consult a paper version before you head to the door. 
• Printout of turf map: Some drivers like to have a map on paper. 
• Button, name tag, or badge to show your affiliation. 

SOLO OR PARTNER:

Decide whether you want to canvass on your own or with a partner. Think about who will drive. It might be a canvasser or a different person who will stay in the car and handle navigation and driving. 

CANVASSING ROUNDS:

A canvassing “round” refers to one set of turfs, distributed to members to complete in a period of time determined by the members. The group can decide together on the parameters. 

We recommend at least one week per round, with flexibility for members to choose their own schedules for canvassing. In the pilot project, we gave volunteers two weeks to complete their turfs—and our project extended over four months. 

In traditional persuasion canvassing, campaigns typically set one weekend or even one day per round. Your group can also choose this pattern. Most volunteers find weekends most convenient for door-knocking, but some may wish to try weekdays as well. 

REPORTING: When you have finished your turf (or done as much as you can in the time period), you should let your team leader know. The leader then lets NHDP know that the turf is complete. (This step is important to make sure the data is officially integrated with the VoteBuilder database—but all you have to do as a canvasser is report that you’re finished.)

LOCAL NOTES: If your town has a shared document for local information, be sure to enter your own notes in that. 

REFLECTION: We recommend that the group establish a way to confer at intervals during canvassing.  This might be a regular “check in” time on Zoom once a week or every other week. Having a chance to report, share highlights, and ask questions can be very valuable for volunteers. It can also lead to revisions in your conversation guide as you learn ways to adapt and improve your “script.”