Fresh off the resounding success of our September 8-9 canvassing weekend, during which we knocked on 520 doors and had face-to-face conversations with over 150 voters, we are rolling out the next phase of our efforts to reach every possible Democratic voter before November: The Comfortable Canvassing Initiative! If knocking on strangers’ doors on a Saturday is a bit too intimidating, you’re not alone, and we’re here to help. We want to empower each of you to locate and make contact with the people in your neighborhood that you already know. That way, you can bring back the weed whacker you borrowed three months ago AND encourage someone to vote in one fell swoop. Here’s all it takes:
- Send an e-mail to durhamprecinct35.3@gmail.com with the name of your neighborhood. If you’re not in a named neighborhood, just send your street address and we’ll work from there.
- Download the MiniVAN app from whichever app store you use. Create an Action ID for yourself. Here’s a short (7 minutes) video tutorial with screen shots of the app that can guide you through both set-up and use.
- We will send you a list number customized to include only targeted Democratic and Unaffiliated voters, so you don’t have to guess whether it’s a politically friendly house. Download the list in MiniVAN and view the addresses.
- Pick the people whose names you already know, or a neighbor you’ve been meaning to meet. Click on their address and there’s a pre-loaded script with questions for you to fill in as you talk to them (since you already know the person, you don’t have to follow the script exactly, but please enter the info requested regarding their voting intentions and willingness to volunteer).
- Visit the people you want to visit, or visit everyone on the list. Knock on one door per week or all the doors in one day. It’s entirely up to you.
- Sync the app after you talk to someone and enter their answers, then go home and get back to whatever it was you were doing before.
It’s that simple, and if each person on our volunteer list talked to just five people in the next six weeks, we’d finish our list of targeted voters even before our last GOTV event on the weekend before the election. So get on board with canvassing made easy. All it takes is an e-mail to durhamprecinct35.3@gmail.com. Be a voter, be a volunteer – and be a Comfortable Canvasser!
Durham Precinct 35.3 