Who's That Knocking? A Study of the Strategic Choices Facing Large-Scale Grassroots Canvassing Efforts

Although recent political science research has established that face-to-face contacting mobilizes eligible citizens to vote, the emphasis on field experiments to facilitate causal inference has occasionally come at the expense of a deeper knowledge of how campaigns develop and implement canvassing and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) programs. We rely on a case study from a major statewide campaign in Texas to identify and explore the strategic considerations leading to the deployment of a large-scale paid field operation. Among the campaign management challenges in carrying out a statewide canvassing effort, we address the recruitment, retention, and supervision of canvassers; the choice of target neighborhoods and voters; the variable response of voters at the doorstep; setting and reaching performance goals; the timing of contacts; detailed recordkeeping; and the turnout results. In detailing this effort, we draw upon insights from interviews with staffers, field observations, and the campaign's detailed data on response at the doorstep for a target list of 2.5 million voters. In the end, we find that strategic decisions are myriad and complex, and that they almost certainly condition the impact of canvassing and GOTV operations.