As a field organizer, you know that you need to recruit at least twice as many canvassers as you expect to show up; you know the critical importance of reminder calls; you know that volunteers should sign-in and pick up their packets; but you also know that sending canvassers out onto the streets is not enough. In this post, I focus on how you can make those volunteers succeed in bringing back Commit-To-Vote cards .

Recruit volunteers to a Commit-To-Vote canvass

As you recruit volunteers to your first Commit-To-Vote canvass, explain that they will be using a new, more powerful, technique: the Commit-To-Vote card. This lets them know what to expect and gives them the opportunity to ask about Commit-To-Vote cards when time is not as critical.

Use a script that puts the ask first

No matter how clear the script, novice canvassers will learn only the first one or two lines. If those lines includes the ask, the ask will happen. If not, it won’t. This sample script puts the ask in the second line, the first line being required to identify the voter.

 “I am a volunteer for Jane Doe, Democratic candidate for Congress. May I speak to Richard Roe?”

 “You know how important it is to elect Democrats who will (insert key campaign line). I am here to ask if you are prepared to make a commitment to vote for Democrat Jane Doe on Nov 7th?”

  Getting straight to the point respects the voter’s time while keeping the volunteer on target. If the voter isn’t sold on your candidate before the volunteer knocks, they won’t sign a Commit-To-Vote. Still, the volunteer can have a discussion with the voter, listen to their concerns, and talk about how those concerns will be addressed effectively by your candidate.

Greet volunteers as they arrive

 After volunteers sign in, ask them about their past experience canvassing. Show them the Commit-To-Vote card and ask if they have ever had a voter fill one out. Many volunteers will say: “No. We always took their word for it.” “Great” you say “It is terrific that you have been asking voters to make a commitment to vote. Research shows that when voters make a written commitment to vote, they are even more likely to follow through. Are you ready to learn how to be more effective?”

Role play

Novice canvassers are powerfully aided by role play. Everyone is happy to have practiced their pitch but everyone squirms when asked to demonstrate. Explaining how to coax volunteers to participate in role play is outside the scope of this post. Send me your e-mail address or twitter handle in the comments and I will send you my six favorite techniques for getting volunteers to participate in the role play.

Now that volunteers have practiced their lines, be positive. Find something to like. Did they ask the voter if they were willing to make a commitment to vote?  Praise that. Did they ask to speak to the voter on their list by name? Praise. Were they friendly? Praise. You want to increase their confidence. I would offer them advice in only one situation. If they aren’t asking voters to make a commitment to vote, say that you like what you saw and add: “And today we are going to ask voters to make a written commitment to vote. Could I ask you to try that again, just like you did and add ‘Are you prepared to make a commitment to vote?”

The role plays may cause you to cringe. That’s OK. Praise them anyway. Be glad that you had them do a role play. Their first door knock will go so much better as a result.

Reflection – never waste an opportunity to praise

When they return, look through their Commit-To-Vote cards and find something to praise. If they are all in the same handwriting, the canvasser filled them out. That’s OK. But if at least one voter filled out their own Commit-To-Vote, that is better. Congratulate them on having voters fill the cards out themselves and ask how they convinced this voter to do so. If they collected at least one phone number, praise them and ask how they collected that phone number. Was the phone number legible, praise that too. If they returned with at least one Commit-To-Vote, praise them and ask them about that interaction. Any volunteer who collects at least one Commit-To-Vote their first time will soon be a solid canvasser.

Lavishing praise on canvassers might seem artificial but it is easy to forget how awkward cold door-knocking makes a person feel, especially in these days of maximal screen-time. A volunteer who spends three hours walking the streets and brings back a few cards might feel useless and thus never return. Such feelings can be effectively dispelled by even a little praise.

What is more, asking volunteers about the good results that they achieved will help you learn new techniques. More importantly it reinforces those techniques in the canvasser’s mind. Often the canvasser will say: “I don’t know, they just did it.” That’s great. This helps the canvasser understand that voters want to commit to vote for your candidate and that keeping the pitch simple and giving them the opportunity is often enough.

Keep it positive. If they did not collect any Commit-To-Vote forms, thank them for canvassing.

Set yourself up for success

Focus on canvassers who are willing to ask voters to fill out Commit-To-Vote forms. All novice canvassers will agree to do so. Some experienced canvassers will not.

On a Commit to Vote canvass, all voters on the list should be Democrats or lean Democratic. Volunteers who have never collected a Commit-To-Vote will quit asking if the first three voters that they ask turn them down. Nine of ten canvassers knocking on the doors of solid Democrats and lean Democrats will collect at least one Commit-To-Vote from the first three voters they asked and will continue asking voters to fill out Commit-To-Vote forms. If half of the voters on the list are independents, four or five of those ten canvassers will come back without a single Commit-To-Vote. Those volunteers who came home empty handed will sour on Commit-To-Vote canvassing.

Avoid sending novice volunteers to “No Soliciting” neighborhoods. Experienced, dedicated canvassers can handle those. Few, if any, novices will. Likewise, going after independent voters requires alternative canvassing methods. Ask for my thoughts on either of these topics, if interested.

Pilot your canvass. Take a list and knock on doors for a couple hours a week or so before your first Commit-To-Vote canvass. This will allow you to speak from experience.

Final thoughts

Note to the field campaign manager and regional field managers. Asking novice field organizers to manage their first Commit-To-Vote canvass risks setting them up for failure. Consider having a seasoned organizer, one who has demonstrated success launching a first Commit-To-Vote canvass help.

If you have been running Commit-To-Vote canvasses with mediocre results (fewer than ⅔ of canvassers returning with completed Commit-To-Vote cards) your task is more difficult, but still possible. Ask me about rejuvenating mediocre Commit-To-Vote canvasses, if interested.

Vote triplers might soon replace the Commit-To-Vote card as the best way to increase voter turnout. I can’t speak from personal experience, but I have heard good things about this from people who have used them. I look forward to trying them when the opportunity arises.