by Dean Briggs
Have you asked yourself, “What’s the most effective action I can take to flip the Congress in 2026?” Canvassing is your answer.
Postcarding generates roughly a 1.3% to 2% increase in voter turnout.1 Phone-banking generates between 2% and 3% increased turnout.2
Door-to-door volunteer canvassing generates about a 6% increase in voter turnout.
This doesn’t mean that postcarding and phone-banking are insignificant. Elections in many districts, particularly in non-presidential election years, may be won by a handful of votes.
But if you want to maximize your effectiveness, canvassing is the way.
Research shows that low-likelihood voters are motivated by multiple contacts with campaigns, including direct mail, postcarding, calls and door-knocking. As of this writing, primaries are underway, candidates are still being chosen, and canvassers are out in force. They’re talking with voters about their concerns, their chances of voting, and how likely they are to vote for a Democrat.
Importantly, canvassing is a life experience most of us haven’t had, living as many of us do in our various political, economic and social bubbles. When you canvass, you will meet people who don’t vote because they don’t think it matters, people who have never voted because it is against their religion, people who would never vote for a Democrat, and people who have been oppressed their entire lives but haven’t given up.
Now is the time.
Now’s a great time to get involved, because many voters are not thinking about the election, haven’t seen any ads or received any mailings, and aren’t yet tired of people knocking on their doors. The weather is pleasant, there are competitive campaigns within a day trip for many Massachusetts activists, and there are many experienced canvassers ready to help you learn.
How it works
First, sign up with a group such as Swing Blue Alliance, Swing Left or another progressive organization. They often hold online trainings, may offer training videos, and send materials in advance. The day of the event, they will provide orientation at the canvassing location. Canvassing is usually done in pairs, and you will likely be paired with an experienced canvasser.
Your orientation session will tell you something about the community in which you’re canvassing and what type of canvassing you’ll be doing. It may also provide a description of the district and perhaps an issues list — concerns residents have in the district. There is usually a script for the voter conversation. You will usually be encouraged to say the script in your own words, although there may be questions that are a high priority for you to ask the voter.
Finally, you’ll receive a house-by-house walk list of addresses, commonly called a “turf”.
Part of the training will cover using a simple phone app that lists the houses in your turf. Some may name the individual Democratic and independent voters in each household, so you can indicate which person you spoke with in the app. The script may have you ask whether the voter plans to vote in the upcoming election, and there will be fields for the answer to that and other questions in the app. One way to work is to have one team member ask the questions and engage with the voter while the other takes notes in the app or on paper for later entry into the app. You can take turns at these tasks.
Different kinds of canvassing
Various canvassing techniques include intensive listening approaches such as deep canvassing and Ground Truth interviews. You might be one of multiple canvassers to visit the homes of registered Democratic and independent voters who haven’t voted in a recent election.
Other canvassing activities may include identifying unregistered citizens and registering them or directing them to registration sites and encouraging early voting or mail-in voting. Voter registration drives may be taking place in the community, and canvassers may provide information on that as well.
Get-out-the-vote canvassing usually takes place right before an election and is a friendly reminder that the election is coming up. Voters may be asked if they know where to vote and if they have a plan for voting, whether by mail-in ballot or in-person, as well as how to get to their polling place, when they are free to go, and what they need to bring with them.
Take the next step
Indivisible Mass Coalition, because of its nonprofit status, cannot work on candidate campaigns, but many allies and friends do, including local Indivisible groups, Swing Blue Alliance, and Swing Left. Here are some links to help you get started.
Swing Blue Alliance
At this writing, SBA is canvassing southern Maine for its critical senate race, and you can view the group’s list of canvassing events here. SBA, Swing Left and MAFlipPA are also canvassing now through October in Pennsylvania’s Seventh Congressional district (around Allentown). Find out more here. Races in purple districts are won by small numbers of votes, and canvassing in these communities can tip the balance.
SBA is well organized, provides good training, and has an experienced team. I trained and canvassed with this group, and I recommend it. Swing Blue Alliance is also active in postcarding and phone banking — more about that here.
Swing Left
This national organization is running Ground Truth, a nationwide program to rebuild trust between Democrats and voters through meaningful conversations with volunteers in their communities about issues that concern them. Swing Left targets swing districts across the country. Watch this short, engaging video and sign up on the same page to learn more.
I’ve canvassed with Swing Left this year in New York’s purple 19th Congressional District, just over the Massachusetts line. It’s a pleasure to listen to people talk about their life challenges that good government could make better and their frustrations with politicians and the political system. I know that, through Ground Truth, I’m bringing their voices back to the candidates.
- Donald P. Green and Alan S. Greer, Get Out the Vote (Brookings Institution Press, 2024), 60.
- Ibid., 88.
Images courtesy Swing Left.
Dean is a member of the IMC Communications Team, Indivisible Boros and Beyond, and Nashoba Indivisible.
IndivisiBlog posts reflect the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policy positions of Indivisible Mass Coalition.
