Persuade Voters
The Importance of Face-to-Face Conversations
Once the persuadable universe is identified (see Step 3), the next phase of the voter contact program begins. There are generally three tools that a field operation uses for voter persuasion: canvassing, phoning, and direct mail. At the precinct level, Precinct Captains will focus almost solely on canvassing (except in areas where voters are so spread out as to be "unwalkable"). The more personal the contact with the voter, the better, and face-to-face conversations at the voter's door will yield support and momentum for your campaign. This is particularly effective when precincts get organized to talk neighbor-to-neighbor about the issues and candidates.
Canvassing Tips:
The most effective way to directly engage voters is in a one-to-one conversation. Canvassing, or going door-to-door, is one of the best ways to convince a voter to support the campaign. Canvassing allows a campaign to personally deliver a message and provides individual interaction between the voter and the campaign. Going door to door brings campaigning to the streets and provides a personal touch, particularly when the volunteer knocking on your door is from your immediate neighborhood.
Canvassing is done to idenitfy voters' preferences as well as to persuade undecided voters. The 1-to-5 categorization should be used and referred to when door-knocking. Your campaign should take time to train your Precinct Captains and other volunteers and prepare them for what they will experience in the field. All volunteer canvassers should be briefed on facts about the candidate or issue, goals of the canvass, step-by-step training on what to say when talking to voters, and other helpful hints. Finally, the volunteers should receive well-organized walk kits that include a canvass script, walk sheets (the list of the voters they wil be talking to), maps of the area that explicitly lay out the route, emergency contact numbers if questions arise, and instructions on how and where to turn in all materials at the end of the walk. Once out on a route, canvassers should keep in mind a few guidelines:
- Be sure to ask an enthusiastic or supportive person to volunteer.
- Be polite, thank the person, and move on if you encounter someone hostile.
- Do not enter the home of either a supporter or opponent; speed and efficiency are critical.
- Be considerate and do not walk on people's yards.
- Do not linger at a door if somone obviously does not have time or interest in talking.
- Be mindful of your safety; travel in pairs when necessary
- Be sure to ask the person for his or her vote; if you don't ask for a vote, don't expect to get one.
Sample Persuasion Script:
"Hi, my name is (give first name), and I'm here tonight in regard to the upcoming presidential election. Do you have a quick minute?"
(Pause for a reply, and if the person says they are busy, tell them you have only two questions)
"Does it concern you that President Bush's tax cuts went primarily to Americans earning more than $150,000 a year, yet they created record budget deficits that will take decades for our children to pay back?"
(Wait for an answer. If "yes", go to Option A. If "no", go to Option B.)
Option A: "It bothers me, too, especially since those deficits have also forced states to cut eligibility requirements for health insurance and raise co-payments and cut funding for schools - all of which benefit average middle-class families. Do you think this is right?"
(Wait for an answer and acknowlege it, engaging in a brief conversation, but do not get into a debate.)
"Okay, one last question: if the election were held today, who would you most likely vote for: John Kerry, George Bush, or Ralph Nader?"
(Let them volunteer "undecided")
"Thank you very much for your time today"
Option B: "Okay, thanks. Does it concern you that these deficits have forced states to cut eligibility requirements for health insurance and raise co-payments and cut funding for schools - all of which benefit average middle-class families?"
(Wait for an answer and acknowledge it, engaging in a brief conversation, but do not get into a debate.)
"Okay, one last question: if the election were held today, who would you most likely vote for: John Kerry, George Bush, or Ralph Nader?"
(Let them volunteer "undecided")
"Thank you vey much for your time today"
Putting it All Together
An effective voter persuasion program will use all components of the field to reach out to undecided voters. Unlike campaign workers, most undecided voters are not paying much attention to politics. It is critical therefore to contact them often (six to nine times) in a variety of different ways over a reasonable period of time. This requires good planning and the support of committed Precinct Captains and other super volunteers to accomplish.
For good reason, people get discouraged by the state of politics today, when campaigns disperse messages that do not connect with voters. When Paul Wellstone ran for the U.S. Senate, it was his outspokenness on issues that mobilized Wellstone's base and energized his supporters. He used that energy to build a grassroots base of volunteers who delivered his campagin message into their neighborhoods, communities, and places of work. "When it comes down to it," Wellstone would ask, "who are people going to believe: a negative attack ad on television or their neighbor who knocks on their door talking about the real issues in a campaign?"
Voters respond to direct, personal contact that engages them in conversations about the issues that matter to them. This is best accomplished by trained, motivated volunteers from their own precinct who know the local issues and can develop leadership from the bottom up. By having multiple, direct, targeted conversations with voters at the precinct level, grassroots campaigns can win the right way.