Fergus Cassidy

Damian and Adam write about dealing with canvassers when they call to the door. But persuasion is not the only thing on their minds.

Canvassing provides information crucial for the running of the campaign, up to and including polling day.

The big parties run the canvass like a military operation. They will aim to complete a full canvass at least once. They have the bodies (and the moolah) to achieve this. In some constituencies, a second full canvass may even be possible.

No effort is spared on the first canvass to make sure it's thorough i.e. everywhere a vote registered is called to. Speed in getting this done is vital.

With us, agin us and DKs
Armed with a copy of the electoral register, a canvasser's main task is to find out what way each person will vote and record it beside each name. Of particular importance is to note accurately those voters who indicate clear support for their candidate(s) or party.

So if a voter says they think Mary Soap (Fianna Fail) is a great worker, then FF goes in beside their name.

Next up in importance is to record those voters who are clearly hostile to Mary Soap and/or her party. Experienced canvassers won't waste time trying to change minds but will look for a number two, three etc vote. If the hostile voter doesn't indicate who they support, 'Other' is marked beside the name.

That leaves the 'Don't Knows' or DKs. Canvassers are asked not to second guess the voter's intentions. If the voter is neither friendly nor hostile, that puts them in DK territory. A high level of DKs is no bad thing for the candidates at this early stage.

Experienced canvassers are highly valued because of their 'sniffing' abilities and no group of rookie canvassers is sent out without a veteran by their side.

Divide and conquer
With the first canvass completed, the veteran tallyers can get to work. They can now start dividing up the electoral register and get the view from 30,000ft. Copies of the 2002 general election and 2004 local election canvasses come in very useful here for comparison purposes.

The areas where the candidate received good support can be isolated and less attention paid to them. They might get a reminder call nearer polling day but they're presumed to be in the bag.

The level of DKs is then looked at. If it's high, local knowledge might reveal it was a bad canvass and support is actually higher. Nonetheless, the DKs will be singled out for special attention from here on in.

If they're in a cluster together, there could be a specific local issue at play. The campaign team may then take action by leafleting the area or announcing a commitment to provide relief/funding etc.

The candidate will be directed to the DKs and will personally call to as many as possible.

If a second full canvass takes place, the aim will be to have it finished at least three or four days out from polling day. This allows for specific targeting but also provides enough time for drastic measures if required.

Getting the vote out
I'll write about canvassing and its role on polling day in the next post.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, 2 May 2007 at 10:07 am and is filed under Doors of Perception.