Editing Canvassing (section)

===Origins===
The origin of the term is an older spelling of "canvas", to sift by shaking in a sheet of canvas, hence to discuss thoroughly.<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Canvass}}</ref>

An organized canvass can be seen as early as the [[elections in the Roman Republic]]. In those campaigns candidates would shake the hands of all eligible voters in the [[Roman Forum|Forum]]. Whispering into the ear of some candidates would be a ''[[nomenclator (nomenclature)|nomenclator]]'', a [[slavery in Ancient Rome|slave]] who had been trained to memorize the names of all the voters, so that the candidate could greet them all by name.<ref name="Vishnia2012">{{cite book |last=Vishnia |first=Rachel Feig |title=Roman Elections in the Age of Cicero: Society, Government, and Voting|date=March 12, 2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-47871-0|pages=112}}</ref>

Modern canvassing can be traced back to the rise of contested elections in [[England]]. For the first centuries of the [[English Parliament]] elections were rarely contested. Losing an election was considered a dishonor to oneself, and to friends and family. Campaigning thus involved quiet sounding out of the small pool of voters. Only once this process had convinced a candidate that he had enough votes to win would he declare his interest in the seat.<ref>Mark A. Kishlansky. ''Cambridge University Press, September 26, 1986'' Cambridge University Press, September 26, 1986, pg. 35</ref>

Beginning in the [[Elizabethan era]], and expanding during the conflicts under the [[House of Stuart|Stuart]]s, elections began to be openly contested. Canvassing was a controversial strategy. In both 1604 and 1626 canvassing for votes was banned. It was seen as a violation to free elections, as votes would be won by persuasion rather than a voter making up his own mind.<ref name="Derek Hirst 2005. pg. 115">Derek Hirst. ''The Representative of the People?: Voters and Voting in England Under the Early Stuarts'' Cambridge University Press, September 15, 2005. pg. 115</ref> Despite this, by the late 17th century, canvassing was standard practice in English elections. Rival campaigns would attempt a full canvass of all voters, which even in the largest districts would only be a few thousand people.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

{{Quote box
 |quote  = ''I got sixty eight promises in [[Oundle]] and its neighbourhood today, and only one refusal. Some doubtful, but most not at home, with who I left printed cards requesting their votes.''
 |author =  [[John Spencer, Viscount Althorp|Lord Althorp]] describing his day of canvassing in [[Northamptonshire]] in the [[1806 United Kingdom general election|1806 election]]
 |source = <ref>Peter Jupp. ''British and Irish Elections 1784-1881''. David and Charles Ltd. 1973. pg. 143</ref>
 |width  = 25%
 |align  = right
}}
There were many reasons why candidates invested much time and money in canvassing. As in the previous tradition of sounding out supporters before announcing, many candidates would use the canvass to determine their level of support, and would drop out before election day if it proved insufficient. Part of the concern would be financial. Campaigning was expensive in an era when voters expected to be plied with food and drink. In this period the candidates had to cover the costs of the election itself. If candidates did not find enough votes during their canvass they would drop out before wasting more money on a losing campaign.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Robert Worthington |title=Political Organization and Canvassing: Yorkshire Elections Before the Reform Bill |journal=The American Historical Review |date=1969 |volume=74 |issue=5 |pages=1538–1560 |doi=10.2307/1841324 |jstor=1841324}}</ref>

Building the list of voters was also important, as only some districts kept full [[poll book]]s. Legal wrangling over who met the property requirements to vote was important in many campaigns, and canvassing was used to add supporters to the rolls, while investigating the claims of opponents. The growing list of supporters would also be essential to an election day operation. In early elections all voters had to travel to a central town, often some distance from their home, and polling could last several days. During this time voters would be away from their work and their fields. As an example of the challenges, one losing candidate had identified 639 supporters in Kent for the [[Short Parliament]] election of 1640, but only 174 voted, most going home after finding out the polling would take three days.<ref>Derek Hirst. ''The Representative of the People?: Voters and Voting in England Under the Early Stuarts'' Cambridge University Press, September 15, 2005. pg. 117</ref>