Canvassing

Canvassing is the systematic initiation of direct contact with individuals commonly used during political campaigns. Campaigners will knock on doors or make telephone calls (also known as phonebanking) to engage in a personalized contact with an individual. It is used by political parties and issue groups to identify supporters, persuade the undecided, add voters to the voters list through voter registration, and it is central to get out the vote operations. It is the core element of what political campaigns call the ground game or field.

Organized canvassing became a central tool of contested election campaigns in Britain, and has remained a core practice performed by thousands of volunteers each election there, and in many of the countries descended from its political system. It is less common in campaigns of Continental Europe and East Asian democracies.

A modern election canvass is conducted either by a candidate, volunteers, or by paid canvassers. The canvassers are given lists known as canvass sheets or in the UK as reading pads. These are a list of households to be contacted, generated from a voter database. Some campaigns today have replaced paper sheets with tablet or smartphone apps.

The canvasser will attempt to reach each of the households on their list, and deliver a script containing questions and persuasive messaging provided by the campaign. Almost all election canvassing includes asking how a person plans to vote. Supporters will then be asked themselves to volunteer, or to take a lawn sign. Those who are wavering or undecided may be given a message of persuasion. If foot canvassing, the canvasser will also distribute flyers.

Upon completing the canvass, the results will be entered into the voter database. This will update the campaign's list of voters, removing those who have moved or are deceased and adding new residents who may have been found. The data on the questions will be used for further contact, a supporter may be added to a list for get out the vote or fundraising, while a hostile voter might be dropped from future contact.

The origin of the term is an older spelling of “canvas”, to sift by shaking in a sheet of canvas, hence to discuss thoroughly.

An organized canvass can be seen as early as the elections of the Roman Republic. In those campaigns candidates would shake the hands of all eligible voters in the Forum. Whispering into the ear of some candidates would be a nomenclator, a slave who had been trained to memorize the names of all the voters, so that the candidate could greet them all by name.

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