Informative post and comments. I do wonder at the Dem addiction to churn and burn. I have blocked spam from a dozen campaigns in the last week. Everyone from George Conway to Ilhan Omar. And must have blocked 100 more texts from DNC and PACs. And I am a Dem core activist! CaB is alienating and violates core values Dems profess. No dignity. No respect. No transparency. And so I have no trust. Is this the way to build a majority? Apparently not. Churn and Burn may not have elected The Evil One, but it sure helped.
It is a common misconception that MiniVAN lacks depth; in reality, the app provides a clear window into a voter’s history, including the last three general and primary elections, previous contact notes, and specific canvasser feedback. When these features are missing, it isn’t a limitation of the software—it’s a tactical error by the organizer.
The same applies to the frustration of "inaccessible" addresses. A competent organizer marks those locations as off-limits to save their volunteers' time. However, many large-scale campaigns treat volunteers as disposable "cannon fodder," intentionally sending them into locked buildings in the desperate hope they’ll find a way in.
The Problem Isn't the Tool—It’s the Timeline
The critique of MiniVAN often mistakes a bad user for a bad tool. While MiniVAN is a powerhouse for voter contact and data management, it requires an investment of time to set up correctly—a luxury many "big" campaigns refuse to take.
Relational Potential: In my NC county we are building a "Know Your Neighbor" campaign. , we use MiniVAN to connect volunteers with the 25 supportive voters nearest to them, fostering long-term follow-up.
Database Design: Criticizing VAN for not including unregistered voters misses the point of its design; it is a voter database synced to official rolls, not a registration platform.
The Bottom Line
Votebuilder and MiniVAN are highly effective when used with intention, but we must be realistic about the industry: Large statewide and national campaigns are rarely interested in long-term relational organizing. That isn't their mission. They are built for short-term surges, and their misuse of MiniVAN reflects that "churn and burn" mentality.
I applaud the author for working to build a new tool for relational organizing. I hope the effort is successful. But what she really wants is for the national and state parties to invest in relational organizing as a strategy, and no new tool will make that happen, only new leadership..
If you want deep, community-rooted organizing, you can do it with MiniVAN—but don't expect a national campaign to lead the way. They aren't using the tool "wrong" by accident; the campaigns simply aren't built for the kind of relationship-building that local parties and grassroots groups can achieve.
I would be happy to put something together, though it’s a longer story about the challenges of activating blue voters in a red county. It’s a journey of finding our footing—and occasionally our happiness—only once we decided to strike out on our own.
The Minivan app is just one piece of that puzzle. We utilize the full VoteBuilder-to-Minivan interface to provide our volunteers with the most comprehensive data possible for their door-knocking efforts.
Additionally, we rolled out the "Know Your Neighbor" campaign this year as part of our ongoing commitment to relational organizing. While it is still too early to evaluate the final results, the initial feedback from our volunteers has been very positive.
Let me know how to submit if you are interested. It may strike some of the same themes as the article that prompted my comment. Campaigns need to get better at working with local parties and organizatoins.
Newer canvassing tools like Reach or Open Field make it so much easier to organize anyone and add them to your list.
Informative post and comments. I do wonder at the Dem addiction to churn and burn. I have blocked spam from a dozen campaigns in the last week. Everyone from George Conway to Ilhan Omar. And must have blocked 100 more texts from DNC and PACs. And I am a Dem core activist! CaB is alienating and violates core values Dems profess. No dignity. No respect. No transparency. And so I have no trust. Is this the way to build a majority? Apparently not. Churn and Burn may not have elected The Evil One, but it sure helped.
A Defense of MiniVAN: Strategy vs. Software
It is a common misconception that MiniVAN lacks depth; in reality, the app provides a clear window into a voter’s history, including the last three general and primary elections, previous contact notes, and specific canvasser feedback. When these features are missing, it isn’t a limitation of the software—it’s a tactical error by the organizer.
The same applies to the frustration of "inaccessible" addresses. A competent organizer marks those locations as off-limits to save their volunteers' time. However, many large-scale campaigns treat volunteers as disposable "cannon fodder," intentionally sending them into locked buildings in the desperate hope they’ll find a way in.
The Problem Isn't the Tool—It’s the Timeline
The critique of MiniVAN often mistakes a bad user for a bad tool. While MiniVAN is a powerhouse for voter contact and data management, it requires an investment of time to set up correctly—a luxury many "big" campaigns refuse to take.
Relational Potential: In my NC county we are building a "Know Your Neighbor" campaign. , we use MiniVAN to connect volunteers with the 25 supportive voters nearest to them, fostering long-term follow-up.
Database Design: Criticizing VAN for not including unregistered voters misses the point of its design; it is a voter database synced to official rolls, not a registration platform.
The Bottom Line
Votebuilder and MiniVAN are highly effective when used with intention, but we must be realistic about the industry: Large statewide and national campaigns are rarely interested in long-term relational organizing. That isn't their mission. They are built for short-term surges, and their misuse of MiniVAN reflects that "churn and burn" mentality.
I applaud the author for working to build a new tool for relational organizing. I hope the effort is successful. But what she really wants is for the national and state parties to invest in relational organizing as a strategy, and no new tool will make that happen, only new leadership..
If you want deep, community-rooted organizing, you can do it with MiniVAN—but don't expect a national campaign to lead the way. They aren't using the tool "wrong" by accident; the campaigns simply aren't built for the kind of relationship-building that local parties and grassroots groups can achieve.
I'm interested in the way you are using MiniVAN to support a Know Your Neighbor campaign. Would you consider writing about this for the Connector?
I would be happy to put something together, though it’s a longer story about the challenges of activating blue voters in a red county. It’s a journey of finding our footing—and occasionally our happiness—only once we decided to strike out on our own.
The Minivan app is just one piece of that puzzle. We utilize the full VoteBuilder-to-Minivan interface to provide our volunteers with the most comprehensive data possible for their door-knocking efforts.
Additionally, we rolled out the "Know Your Neighbor" campaign this year as part of our ongoing commitment to relational organizing. While it is still too early to evaluate the final results, the initial feedback from our volunteers has been very positive.
Let me know how to submit if you are interested. It may strike some of the same themes as the article that prompted my comment. Campaigns need to get better at working with local parties and organizatoins.
Hi, You can submit to thegrassrootsconnector@gmail.com
I love this line: the journey of finding our footing--and occasionally our happiness--only once we deciderd to strike out on our own.