Canvassing Tips for the Midterm Elections

If you are running for the upcoming Midterm Elections, there are multiple ways to make an impact on the electorate and get an edge over your competitors. One of the key ways to make an effective political campaign strategy is through researched and well-executed canvassing. Canvassing should be at the core of your political campaign strategy and does not always refer to door-to-door canvassing. Other methods of canvassing include phone banking, event canvassing or digital canvassing.

In modern politics, canvassing is used as a method to build relationships with the electorate. Campaigns thrive through canvassing, this community outreach allows your campaign team to test political messaging, collect valuable data, understand the problems and issues your supporter base is experiencing, and further refine campaign outreach methods.

Canvassing impacts every level of your campaign, from door-to-door canvassing to your get-out-the-vote strategy. Below are some tips for canvassing and canvassing methods for the Midterm Elections.

Tips for Canvassing for the Midterm Elections:

1. Political Campaign Strategy

The first step to canvassing is implementing an effective community outreach strategy. Mobilizing supporters to gain votes is one of the nuclei of political campaign strategies and canvassing efforts. Implementing canvassing software from the outset will be integral to your canvassing strategy and will influence your campaign organizing.

2. Leverage Technology

Using technology for your canvassing efforts is one of our top 3 tips. Canvassing software is pivotal when campaign planning, organizing, collecting voter data and communication Ecanvasser allows you to manage all aspects of your campaign, saving hours of time and tracking important support data. Having this data on one centralized platform has so many advantages, and ultimately can impact actions taken during and after your canvassing efforts.

‍3. Organizing Your Canvassing Team

‍On a national level, organizing and mobilizing your canvassing team is pivotal to the success of your campaign and is one of our top tips for canvassing for the Midterm Elections. Distributed Organizing will allow your national campaign team to take advantage grassroots organizing and the snowflake model of community engagement at a more regional level. This allows for communication to come from campaign superiors to all campaign members at a national level. This form of organizing is scalable through the use of a software partner, like Leader by Ecanvasser. If completed effectively, distributed organizing can increase your supporter base and ultimately the number of votes you receive on election day.

4. Canvassing Script

Have your canvassing team trained on all of your political messaging and talking points. Having a refined canvassing script is one of our top canvassing tips. Not only will this make canvassing easier, but will give your canvassing team a method of gathering consistent and targeted data at doors. Your team should be able to personalize encounters at the door with guided talking points and surveys. Nurturing opposition voters through encouraging talking points may lead to a new supporter engagement instead of a harsh no.

5. Phone banking

Continual door-to-door canvassing is not always likely in a political campaign. This may be due to volunteer numbers, time commitments and much more. Phone banking has risen in popularity due to the speed you can contact large quantities of people and the safe and effective mannerisms it offers. For the Midterm Elections, all methods of canvassing is recommended and phone banking is one of the best methods to implement. Traditionally, phone banking is conducted through phone dialling and in more recent years, browser-based dialling tools. This outreach method is enacted with the aim to inform data, increase political supporter bases and follow up with the electorate when needed. This is conducted through a pre-defined list of questions with drop-down options for answers, in this way thousands of potential voters can be reached. 

6. Relational Organizing

If on-the-ground canvassing capacity is impacted, phone banking is not your only option. Relational organizing is rising in the ranks as another effective method of canvassing. Relational organizing refers to an existing family member, friend group, support base or network reaching out to already known contacts asking for their support of your campaign, and ultimately asking for their vote. 

7. Data-Driven Decision Making

Use the real-time canvassing data that you collect to make effective and strategic decisions for your political campaign. Enriching your voter files when canvassing and understanding how to use this data to make campaign decisions could be your edge in the Midterm Elections. This data can be used to plot campaign strategy, influence poll and survey questions, and mobilize those who are canvassing for you in the field. 

If your canvassing efforts are not strategic and your voter files are not overflowing with voter data, then not only can you can obtain voter data from canvassing, but from commercial voter file repositories and state voter file libraries. Voter registration details accompanied by voting history are of great importance when making data-based decisions. However, if these files are public, then remember your fellow candidates also have access to the same information. Removing any rich data-driven and campaign-specific decisions. 

8. Enhanced Targeting  

This begins with knowing who your supporter base is and what their key challenges are. This enhanced targeting is further refined by your canvassing efforts.

If you are going to retarget the electorate through digital outreach, you need to ensure your political messaging is appealing and engaging and aligns with your political messaging. Collect the issues that affect the public at the door-to-door canvassing stage and appeal to them. If there is more than one issue affecting different segments of your supporter base, target these audiences with targeted messaging and content. Build a list of those who have pledged to vote for you and nurture them throughout your campaign. This list will also aid your get-out-the-vote strategy on election day.‍ The public knows what they like and what their key issues are, for this reason, consistency across your canvassing methods is pivotal to your public image

9. Get Out The Vote Strategy

All of these canvassing methods combined will inform your get-out-the-vote (GOTV) strategy for the Midterm Elections. A key tip is to keep your GOTV strategy at the fore during all of your canvassing efforts. All decisions made during canvassing should be carefully crafted to get the most votes on election day.