Note: The following was written assuming canvass attendance of 20 or more. For smaller crowds some of this may be unnecessary. Please refer to the DSA Medicare for All Canvass guide, which has a lot of good information on how to host a canvass, identify captains, and other useful information. Philly DSA’s Bernie canvassing operation came out of our Medicare for All canvassing operation.
Table of Contents
Why run a DSA Bernie 2020 canvass
Explanation of included materials
The Canvass from Beginning to End
Before the Canvass
At the Canvass
After the Canvass
If you’re reading this guide, you probably already have an answer to this question that sounds something like ours. In short, we see Bernie’s candidacy as a means to build working class power that can challenge capital and win dignified conditions for all people. Canvassing for Bernie is not just about winning primary and general elections voters, though this is a central goal of the work. Canvasses are an opportunity to fight disillusionment and atomization and replace these with solidarity and the belief that we can build a better world through political action.
Before planning your first canvass, you should check with national’s Bernie campaign and see if you can set up a chapter account for VAN. VAN (and the accompanying app miniVAN) allows you to target voters and cut lists the way any other Democratic electoral campaign would. It also almost completely eliminates data entry (a huge time save!), as you don’t need to plan a separate data entry session and solicit volunteers. You can also easily track your door knocking progress and analyze your data. WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND USING VAN FOR ALL CANVASSING EFFORTS!
Isn’t it time to do something? Get involved with the Local.