A Cool New Tool
Canvassing Connector Makes Door-to-Door Super Easy
By Steve Schear
Kamala Harris was wonderful Tuesday night and the Donald was awful. Unfortunately, that means a lot less than we would like. Most of the undecided voters have not yet made a choice because they don’t follow politics closely, if at all. They are much more likely to be among the 85 million voters who did not watch the debate than the 67 million who did. We still need to talk to those undecided voters in swing states and make sure that Democrats vote.
Join the Cult of Canvassing
We’ve all heard MAGA called a cult of personality. A pundit has suggested that some Democrats belong to a canvassing cult. Maybe that’s true. Per Wikipedia, “A cult is a group requiring unwavering devotion to a set of beliefs and practices which are considered deviant outside the norms of society . . .” As far as I know, no one has labeled me as a deviant because I am devoted to canvassing. However, lots of people question why I love talking to strangers about politics, something many think would be worse than a toothache.
I’ll answer that question shortly. First, you should know that now it is easier than ever to help win this year’s most important elections by knocking on doors. A cool new tool, the Canvassing Connector, can connect anyone willing to travel to battleground states and districts with high quality vetted canvassing operations.
It’s extremely simple to use the CC. Just go to its webpage, fill in your contact information, and hit “submit.” You will soon get an email offering a menu of over 20 different battleground locations where you can choose to canvass. You pick one, then submit a form that includes when you want to door-knock. Within a few days you should be contacted by an organizer from that location who will help you come canvass. You can also choose to volunteer directly with a campaign.
Seed the Vote Provides Financial Help With Housing and Transportation
If money is an issue, the CC can connect you to Seed The Vote, an extremely well-organized group that pays housing and transportation costs for volunteers going to Philadelphia, Detroit, Phoenix, Reno, and Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha, Wisconsin. STV also provides great logistical support and training. I first fell in love with canvassing in 2020 when I knocked on doors through STV for the two Senate races in Georgia. The energy and efficiency of STV’s organizers were fantastic. They made canvassing fun, and we could feel our impact on voters every day. And we won both seats by slim margins, giving the Dems control of the Senate.
Why Canvassing Has a Growing Democratic Fan Base
A multitude of scientific studies prove that canvassing is the most effective tool for influencing voters and getting out the vote. According to Donald Green and Alan Gerber, professors who wrote Get Out the Vote, “Our first experiment showed canvassing to have a surprisingly powerful effect. Now that dozens of experiments have weighed in on the effects of canvassing, there is no longer any doubt that face-to-face contact with voters raises turn-out.”
Canvassing Is Crucial to Penetrate Social Media Bubbles of Disinformation
Large scale canvassing will be essential this year because currently undecided voters will determine the election outcome. After nine years with Trump looming large on the national political scene, people who are still undecided often don’t read newspapers or watch tv news.
A high percentage of the undecided instead get their information from social media or algorithmic news feeds. Many are exposed to a flood of dis- and misinformation. Talking to people face-to-face is the best way to penetrate social media bubbles, expose lies, and provide accurate information about the most important issues. Because most undecided are not that political, it’s relatively easy to persuade them to move in our direction with personal conversations.
Where the Fun Comes From. . .
In the podcast “Hidden Brain,” psychologist Nicholas Epley noted the common fear that talking to strangers will be unpleasant. That’s why most of us don’t talk to people we don’t know on public transportation. Yet Epley’s studies showed that when people were asked to talk to strangers, they actually found the experience very positive. Canvassing produces the same results. Lots of people think it will be difficult and uncomfortable but after a day or two going door-to-door, they realize most of the conversations are pleasant and emotionally rewarding.
Canvassing fun mostly comes in two ways. Some people at the door are entertaining — open, funny or enthusiastic about your being there. And then there is the pleasure of hanging out with your fellow door knockers at a bar or restaurant at the end of the day telling stories about people you met, your successes and obstacles. Canvassers are mostly great to hang out with.
So if you haven’t already, join the cult of canvassing by signing up here. Knocking on doors might become one of your favorite pastimes, at least in election years.