Editing Canvassing

{{Short description|Systematic initiation of direct contact with individuals}}
{{for|the Wikipedia guideline|Wikipedia:Canvassing|selfref=true}}
{{about|the systematic intiation of direct contact|other uses}}
{{redirect|Canvass|the fabric|Canvas|other uses|Canvas (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Door-knocking|the device activity|door knocker}}
[[File:Bill George canvassing 2008.jpg|thumb|Pennsylvania [[AFL-CIO]] President [[Bill George (labor activist)|Bill George]] door-to-door canvassing for Obama in 2008]]
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}

[[File:Canvassing.jpg|thumb|250px|British politician [[Jack Straw]] (on the right with a red [[Rosette (politics)|rosette]]) canvassing with local councilors in [[Blackburn]], Lancashire, in 2008]]
{{Political campaigning}}

'''Canvassing''', also known as '''door knocking''' or '''phone banking''', is the systematic initiation of direct contact with individuals, commonly used during [[political campaign]]s. Canvassing can be done for many reasons: political campaigning, grassroots fundraising, community awareness, membership drives, and more.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://blog.organizer.com/what-is-canvassing|title=What is Canvassing?|last=James-Harvill|first=Jordan|access-date=June 30, 2017|language=en|archive-date=July 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703020714/http://blog.organizer.com/what-is-canvassing|url-status=live}}</ref> Campaigners knock on doors to contact people personally. Canvassing is used by political parties and issue groups to identify supporters, persuade the undecided, and add voters to the [[voters list]] through [[voter registration]], and it is central to [[get out the vote]] operations. It is the core element of what political campaigns call the ''ground game'' or ''field''.

Organized political canvassing became a central tool of contested election campaigns in Britain, and has remained a core practice performed by thousands of volunteers at each election there, and in many countries with similar political systems.

Canvassing can also refer to a neighborhood canvass performed by law enforcement in the course of an investigation. This is a systematic approach to interviewing residents, merchants, and others who are in the immediate vicinity of a crime and may have useful information.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Criminal Investigation, 8/e|last1=Swanson|last2=Chamelin|last3=Territo|first1=Charles R|first2=Neil C|first3=Leonard|publisher=McGraw Hill}}</ref>

In the United States, the compilation of election returns and validation of the outcome that forms the basis of the official results is also called canvassing. <ref name="EAC">{{Cite web |title=CANVASSING AND CERTIFYING AN ELECTION |url=https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/eac_assets/1/6/EMG_chapt_13_august_26_2010.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409154419/https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/eac_assets/1/6/EMG_chapt_13_august_26_2010.pdf |archive-date=April 9, 2022 |website=EAC.gov}}</ref>

==Practice==

A modern election canvass may be conducted by a candidate, volunteers, and/or paid canvassers. The canvassers are given lists known as ''canvass sheets'' (or access to a canvassing app) or in the UK as ''reading pads''. These are a list of households to be contacted, generated from a [[voter database]]. Some campaigns today have replaced paper sheets with tablet or smartphone apps.<ref>Haydn Watters. "[http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/new-mobile-election-apps-mean-pressure-s-on-for-local-campaigns-1.3102068 New mobile election apps mean pressure's on for local campaigns] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222200607/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/new-mobile-election-apps-mean-pressure-s-on-for-local-campaigns-1.3102068 |date=2015-12-22 }}" ''CBC''  June 13, 2015</ref>

The canvasser will try to contact each of the households on their list, and deliver a script containing questions and persuasive messaging provided by the campaign. Almost all election canvassing includes asking how a person plans to vote. Supporters may then be asked themselves to volunteer, or to take a [[lawn sign]].<ref>Michael McNamara. ''The Political Campaign Desk Reference: A Guide for Campaign Managers and Candidates Running for Elected Office'' Outskirts Press, 2008. pg. 123</ref> Those who are wavering or undecided may be given a message of persuasion. If foot canvassing, the canvasser may also distribute flyers.

During the canvass, the results will be entered into the voter database. This will update the campaign's list of voters, removing those who have moved or are deceased and adding new residents who may have been found. The data on the questions will be used for further contact, a supporter may be added to a list for [[get out the vote]] or fundraising, while a hostile voter might be dropped from future contact.

It is important to remember to speak clearly and be personable while canvassing to create meaningful conversations and perhaps sway the undecided.<ref>{{Cite web |last=PreuxSEO |date=2024-05-16 |title=Political Canvassing 101: A Complete Guide for Campaign Success |url=https://rallyright.com/political-canvassing-101-a-complete-guide-for-campaign-success/ |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=RallyRight |language=en-US}}</ref> Most canvassers are prepared with a thorough script that they use at the door. Most are encouraged not to go off-script in order to avoid making false claims or misrepresenting the party they are advocating for. It is important to identify one’s target audience, keep conversations courteous, and employ social engineering techniques to promote the message.<ref>{{Cite web |last=VAN |first=NGP |date=2024-07-29 |title=Canvassing do’s and don’ts that every canvasser should know |url=https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/canvassing-dos-and-donts/ |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=NGP VAN |language=en-US}}</ref>

==History==

===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>

===Persuasion and corruption===
A candidate would also make sure to knock on as many doors as possible to win over the voters. Speaking to as many voters as possible was seen as an essential tool to win the "wavering multitudes."<ref name="Derek Hirst 2005. pg. 115"/>
[[File:William Hogarth - Soliciting Votes - WGA11457.jpg|left|thumb|[[William Hogarth]]'s 1754 depiction of the disreputable job of canvassing for votes]]
By the 18th century canvassing was standard practice, but this was also an era of gross electoral corruption, and canvassing was used to bribe and threaten voters,<ref name="Kavanagh1970">{{cite book |last=Kavanagh |first=Dennis |title=Constituency electioneering in Britain|year=1970|publisher=Longmans}}</ref> as famously depicted in [[William Hogarth]]'s ''[[Humours of an Election]]'' series of paintings. Most directly this would take the form of direct bribes to voters. This was the practice in only a minority of districts, but in some areas large bribes had become habitual. In areas without direct bribery, candidates were expected to provide food, drink and banquets. For the priciest campaigns, these various costs added up to sums equivalent to several million pounds in today's money, causing financial hardship even for wealthy candidates.<ref>J.H. Plumb. ''The growth of political stability in England: 1675-1725.'' London: Macmillan, 1967.</ref>
 
In the first elections held in the United States, canvassing was rare. Most elections were uncontested, and even in races with multiple candidates it was considered improper for a candidate to campaign on his own behalf.<ref name="Schudson2011">{{cite book |last=Schudson |first=Michael |title=The Good Citizen: A History of American CIVIC Life|date=January 1, 2011|publisher=Free Press|isbn=978-1-4516-3162-3}}</ref> As the party system developed in the early 19th century, elections became more contested and voluntary associations developed to work on candidates' behalf. As in the United Kingdom, canvassing became an important part of their operations, and they would attempt to visit each voter in a district.<ref name="Schudson2011">{{cite book |last=Schudson |first=Michael |title=The Good Citizen: A History of American CIVIC Life|date=January 1, 2011|publisher=Free Press|isbn=978-1-4516-3162-3}}</ref>
[[File:George Caleb Bingham - Canvassing for a Vote - Google Art Project.jpg|right|thumb|[[George Caleb Bingham]]'s positive portrayal of a candidate canvassing in the United States in 1852]]
This system soon became a venue for gross corruption. [[Machine politics]] developed in the large cities of the eastern US. Winning candidates would reward their supporters with [[patronage appointment]]s, and direct bribery was also common; one study estimated that 20% of New York voters were compensated for their votes during [[Gilded Age]] elections.<ref name="Schudson2011">{{cite book |last=Schudson |first=Michael |title=The Good Citizen: A History of American CIVIC Life|date=January 1, 2011|publisher=Free Press|isbn=978-1-4516-3162-3}}</ref>

In the United Kingdom, the [[Reform Act 1832]] attacked corruption and expanded the franchise. This, combined with the growing strength of the national parties, transformed canvassing. There were no lists of who was eligible to vote under the new law, and it was up to individual voters to register themselves. The parties launched mass canvasses with the goal of adding all of the party's supporters to the electoral roll. As an example, in [[Norwich]] the [[1874 United Kingdom general election|1874]] saw 3000 Liberal and 2000 Conservative paid workers engaged in [[voter registration]].<ref name="DenverHands2013">{{cite book|author1=David Denver|author2=Gordon Hands|title=Modern Constituency Electioneering: Local Campaigning in the 1992 General Election|date=October 23, 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-22162-1}}</ref> The massive paid canvassing came to an end with the [[Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act 1883]], which limited campaign spending. Thus the armies of paid canvassers were replaced with smaller volunteer efforts. Laws were also changed in the United Kingdom to make voter registration almost automatic, removing the need for the parties to expend efforts on it.<ref name="ReferenceA">David Denver. "Canvassing". ''International Encyclopedia of Elections.'' CQ Press, February 2, 2000</ref>

=== Voter identification and decline ===
As corruption faded, parties returned to using canvassing to win votes through persuasion and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts. This was especially true of the new socialist parties such as the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] in the United Kingdom, and the [[Co-operative Commonwealth Federation|CCF]] in Canada who had little money but enthusiastic volunteer bases who could be deployed to door steps.<ref>{{Citation |last=Berger |first=Stefan |title=Party Organization |date=December 15, 1994 |work=The British Labour Party and the German Social Democrats, 1900–1931 |pages=70–132 |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205005.003.0003 |access-date=January 31, 2024 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205005.003.0003|isbn=978-0-19-820500-5 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The years after the [[Second World War]] saw a general decline in canvassing. Political scientists began to question the utility of traditional campaigns. The [[Michigan model]] of voter behaviour became the accepted wisdom. It argued that voters had deep-set partisan loyalties, and that changes in such loyalties take years to develop. A simple knock on the door will do nothing to change a voter's opinion. Parties thus switched their canvassing resources away from persuading voters, focusing only on identifying their supporters and making sure they voted.<ref name="DenverHands2013">{{cite book|author1=David Denver|author2=Gordon Hands|title=Modern Constituency Electioneering: Local Campaigning in the 1992 General Election|date=October 23, 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-22162-1}}</ref> The British Labour Party adopted the Reading System developed by [[Ian Mikardo]] to win the [[Reading (UK Parliament constituency)|Reading]] constituency in 1945. It was based on concentrating exclusively on pro-Labour areas and boosting their turnout, while ignoring non-supporters.<ref>Jon Lawrence. ''Electing Our Masters : The Hustings in British Politics from Hogarth to Blair.'' OUP Oxford, March 26, 2009, pg. 146</ref>

Even these approaches were found wanting. [[David Butler (psephologist)|David Butler]] in his Nuffield Model of UK elections found that during the 1950s and 1960s, local campaigns had no effect on the results. With the rise of [[television]], resources were shifted from the ground to mass market advertising, with canvassing seen as a relic of the past. [[Ivor Crewe]] argued that "constituency organizing counts for next to nothing in the television age."<ref name="DenverHands2013">{{cite book|author1=David Denver|author2=Gordon Hands|title=Modern Constituency Electioneering: Local Campaigning in the 1992 General Election|date=October 23, 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-22162-1}}</ref> One political scientist wrote there was a belief that canvassing was an "elaborate ritual bringing some sense of gratification to the participants, but making no difference to election results."<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

===Revival===
[[File:AFL CIO Door knocking 2008.jpg|right|thumb|An [[AFL–CIO]] canvasser in the [[2008 United States elections|2008 American election]]]]

In the United States, canvassing hit its all-time low during the 1996 election, with the lowest reported rates of political volunteering, and the lowest recorded voter turnout.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nielsen |first=Rasmus Kleis |title=Ground Wars: Personalized Communication in Political Campaigns|date=February 5, 2012|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-15305-6}}</ref> Political scientists began to reassess the effects of canvassing. In Britain new studies found that unlike in earlier decades, a strong field campaign was having an effect on the result. In the United States [[Alan Gerber|Alan S. Gerber]] and [[Donald Green]] launched a series of controlled experiments, and demonstrated that foot canvassing was one of the most effective tools available to boost voter turnout.<ref name="GreenGerber2015">{{cite book|author1=Donald P. Green|author2=Alan S. Gerber|title=Get Out the Vote: How to Increase Voter Turnout|date=September 30, 2015|publisher=Brookings Institution Press|isbn=978-0-8157-2569-5}}</ref>

The years since 2000 have seen a widespread revival of election canvassing. An intensive effort by the [[Al Gore]] campaign of 2000 was credited with gaining several points on election day in the 2000 election, enough to win the popular vote despite being down several points in the polls the day before. Subsequently, the Republicans launched their 72 Hour Program of get out the vote efforts over the last three days of a campaign, and also found demonstrable proof that it gained them several points in key races.<ref name="Nielsen2012">{{cite book |last=Nielsen |first=Rasmus Kleis |title=Ground Wars: Personalized Communication in Political Campaigns|date=February 5, 2012|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-15305-6}}</ref> The Obama campaigns of 2008 and 2012 were especially noted for dedicating resources to a field program.<ref name="Issenberg2012">{{cite book |last=Issenberg |first=Sasha |title=The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns|year=2012|publisher=Crown|isbn=978-0-307-95479-4}}</ref>

New technologies changed how canvassing was conducted. While door-to-door [[blockwalking]] has been prior to [[COVID-19]] been the most common canvassing technique, canvassing can also be done via phone, [[Political text messaging|texting]], and [[social media]]. Expansive databases of the electorate, such as the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats']] [[NGP VAN]], pulled together canvassing data, consumer information, and demographic profiles to allow precise targeting of voters. No longer would campaigns knock on all the doors in a district, rather voters who would most be persuaded to support the candidate or come out to vote could be targeted. Large campaigns incorporated [[A/B testing]] into their canvassing, to further hone and improve its effectiveness.<ref name="Issenberg2012">{{cite book |last=Issenberg |first=Sasha |title=The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns|year=2012|publisher=Crown|isbn=978-0-307-95479-4}}</ref>

== Around the world ==
Originating in the United Kingdom, canvassing is most widespread in those countries that have borrowed from the British political system. It is standard practice in elections in Ireland, the United States, Canada,<ref name="MarlandGiasson2012">{{cite book|author1=Alex Marland|author2=Thierry Giasson|author3=Jennifer Lees-Marshment|title=Political Marketing in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GSeSaYPa2A4C|date=February 15, 2012|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-2231-2|pages=77|access-date=October 17, 2016|archive-date=February 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214220545/https://books.google.com/books?id=GSeSaYPa2A4C|url-status=live}}</ref> Australia, and New Zealand.<ref name="MulganAimer2004">{{cite book|author1=R. G. Mulgan|author2=Peter Aimer|title=Politics in New Zealand|url=https://archive.org/details/politicsinnewzea0000mulg|url-access=registration|year=2004|publisher=Auckland University Press|isbn=978-1-86940-318-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/politicsinnewzea0000mulg/page/266 266]}}</ref> In India, despite the million or more voters in many constituencies, parties have made the effort to have canvassers visit the door of each house in each village.<ref name="ButlerRanney1992">{{cite book|author1=David Butler|author2=Austin Ranney|title=Electioneering: A Comparative Study of Continuity and Change|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DtDcNPDME6AC|year=1992|publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn=978-0-19-827375-2|access-date=October 17, 2016|archive-date=May 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508010358/https://books.google.com/books?id=DtDcNPDME6AC|url-status=live}}</ref>

Door-to-door canvassing has been little known in most other countries. It has been used in several Latin American countries, including Brazil and Chile.<ref name="ButlerRanney1992"/> By utilizing newer technological resources like WhatsApp, voter turnout has increased among younger voters in Brazil.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Moura |first1=Mauricio |last2=Michelson |first2=Melissa R. |date=2017-12-31 |title=WhatsApp in Brazil: mobilising voters through door-to-door and personal messages |url=https://policyreview.info/node/775 |journal=Internet Policy Review |language=en |volume=6 |issue=4 |doi=10.14763/2017.4.775 |issn=2197-6775|doi-access=free }}</ref> After the highly publicized canvassing tactics of the Obama campaign, similar tactics have been tried in France<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/world/europe/in-france-hollande-camp-tries-us-style-canvassing.html?_r=0 |title=In France, Using Lessons From Obama Campaign |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 21, 2012 |access-date=February 26, 2017 |archive-date=December 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201044713/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/world/europe/in-france-hollande-camp-tries-us-style-canvassing.html?_r=0 |url-status=live }}</ref> and Germany.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-social-democratic-campaign-inspired-by-obama-2012-a-921938.html|title= Washington Wisdom: SPD Adopts Obama's Door-to-Door Campaign|work= [[Spiegel Online]]|date= September 13, 2013|access-date= November 12, 2015|archive-date= November 17, 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151117033540/http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-social-democratic-campaign-inspired-by-obama-2012-a-921938.html|url-status= live}}</ref>

In Scandinavia door-to-door canvassing was an accepted part of election campaigning in the first half of the 20th century, but has since faded. It still exists, but an activist knocking on someone's door is considered somewhat unseemly. More widespread workplace canvasses have been organized, either by labour unions or by employers.<ref name="ButlerRanney1992"/>

In Pakistan, it has been found that canvassing is effective in increasing voter turnout and in facilitating political conversation when catered towards the men and women in the household.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cheema |first1=Ali |last2=Khan |first2=Sarah |last3=Liaqat |first3=Asad |last4=Mohmand |first4=Shandana Khan |date=February 2023 |title=Canvassing the Gatekeepers: A Field Experiment to Increase Women Voters' Turnout in Pakistan |journal=American Political Science Review |language=en |volume=117 |issue=1 |pages=1–21 |doi=10.1017/S0003055422000375 |issn=0003-0554|doi-access=free }}</ref>

In America, there seems to be a consensus that door-to-door canvassing might not be as important to young and BIPOC voters as online engagement canvassing is. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Matthews |first=Dylan |date=2020-09-03 |title=The pandemic is forcing Democrats to ask: How important is door-knocking, anyway? |url=https://www.vox.com/21366036/canvass-ground-game-turnout-gotv-phone-bank-tv-ads-mailers |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=Vox |language=en-US}}</ref> Although Trump's campaign with a lot of door-to-door canvassing did get him a second win, the way he got it was through convincing his voters to go canvass themselves instead of Trump's campaign hiring people to canvass. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Schouten |first=Steve Contorno, Fredreka |date=2024-10-04 |title=Trump’s ground game relies on untraditional strategies to draw out battleground voters {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/04/politics/trump-campaign-ground-game/index.html |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> 

Canvassing for votes is forbidden in Japan due to fear of leftist control.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Notions of Rights in the United States and Japan |url=https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/notions-of-rights-in-the-united-states-and-japan/ |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=Association for Asian Studies |language=en-US}}</ref> This has been the case since the original [[General Election Law]] of 1925. The restrictions have been brought to the [[Supreme Court of Japan|Supreme Court]] on several occasions, but have been upheld as constitutional.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Usaki |first1=Masahiro |title=Restrictions on Political Campaigns in Japan |journal=Law and Contemporary Problems |date=1990 |volume=53 |issue=2 |pages=133–156 |doi=10.2307/1191847 |jstor=1191847 |url=https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/lcp/vol53/iss2/10 |access-date=July 7, 2019 |archive-date=November 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107194412/https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/lcp/vol53/iss2/10/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Effectiveness==
There has been a long history of studying the effectiveness of canvassing beginning with a 1927 study by [[Harold Foote Gosnell]].<ref>Gosnell, Harold F.1927. ''Getting-Out-The-Vote: An Experiment in the Stimulation of Voting.'' Chicago: University of Chicago Press.</ref> Through the 1980s, a series of both controlled and [[natural experiment]]s created a consensus that canvassing had a small effect on turnout, and no observable persuasive effect on whom to vote for.<ref>Jerome H. Black. "Revisiting the Effects of Canvassing on Voting Behaviour." ''Canadian Journal of Political Science'' Vol. 17, No. 2 (June 1984), pp. 351-374</ref>

In 1999, Gerber and Green published their first paper presenting a rigorously controlled experiment that produced a substantial turnout boost from canvassing in a municipal election in [[New Haven, Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Alan S.|last1= Gerber |first2= Donald P.|last2=Green|title = Does Canvassing Increase Voter Turnout? A Field Experiment|journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume = 96|number = 19 |date =September 14, 1999|pages = 10939–10942|doi = 10.1073/pnas.96.19.10939|doi-access= free |pmid= 10485930 |pmc = 17987|bibcode= 1999PNAS...9610939G }}</ref> This study revived interest in the subject. Since then Gerber, Green, and other political scientists have conducted a program that verified those results, and tested what techniques are most effective. Foot canvassing is the most effective contact method, increasing turnout by about 7 percentage points, while phoning boosts it by 2.6 points. Other contact techniques such as [[direct mail]], [[robocall]]s, and [[email]] have small to undetectable effects.<ref name= "GreenGerber2015"/> Other studies have found that canvassing can do more to boost turnout, and also win new votes at the door through persuasion.<ref>[http://mason.gmu.edu/~rpetrie1/Candidate%20Canvassing%208.0.pdf What Persuades Voters? A Field Experiment on Political Campaigning] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222125612/http://mason.gmu.edu/~rpetrie1/Candidate%20Canvassing%208.0.pdf |date=December 22, 2015 }}, October 2012</ref><ref>Torun Dewan, Macartan Humphreys and Daniel Rubenson. [http://www.politics.ryerson.ca/rubenson/downloads/3Cs.pdf THE ELEMENTS OF POLITICAL PERSUASION: CONTENT, CHARISMA AND CUE] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222084618/http://www.politics.ryerson.ca/rubenson/downloads/3Cs.pdf |date=December 22, 2015 }} The Economic Journal, 124 (February 2–13)</ref>

In the city of Duisburg in Germany, another study was conducted to compare the effectivity of in-person canvassing versus mail-in surveys. This research was done in 2022 so volunteer canvassers followed health precautions during their research. The 11 canvassers found that the simpleness of coming door to door, with a small cash motivation, was more effective than mail-in surveys. <ref>{{Cite journal |last=Elis |first=J |date=2024 |title=Comparing the mobilising effects of on-person canvassing to postal reminders - experimental evidence from a longitudinal election study |url=https://research-ebsco-com.du.idm.oclc.org/c/q5iacu/viewer/html/lmww7g2wj5 |journal=International Journal of Social Research Methodology}}</ref>

A 2018 study in the ''[[The American Economic Review|American Economic Review]]'' found that door-to-door canvassing on behalf of the [[François Hollande]] campaign in the [[2012 French presidential election]] "did not affect turnout, but increased Hollande's vote share in the first round and accounted for one fourth of his victory margin in the second. Visits' impact persisted in later elections, suggesting a lasting persuasion effect."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pons |first1=Vincent |title=Will a Five-Minute Discussion Change Your Mind? A Countrywide Experiment on Voter Choice in France |journal=American Economic Review |date=June 2018 |volume=108 |issue=6 |pages=1322–1363 |doi=10.1257/aer.20160524 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

There are some studies that suggest that canvassing is less effective in certain European nations. In an article from the ''British Journal of Political Science'', they found some evidence that the effectiveness in European canvasing activities is far less compared to the United States, compiling several studies of canvassing in Denmark. However, the paper did not come to one conclusion on the cause of this discrepancy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bhatti |first1=Yosef |last2=Dahlgaard |first2=Jens Olav |last3=Hansen |first3=Jonas Hedegaard |last4=Hansen |first4=Kasper M. |date=January 2019 |title=Is Door-to-Door Canvassing Effective in Europe? Evidence from a Meta-study across Six European Countries |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-political-science/article/is-doortodoor-canvassing-effective-in-europe-evidence-from-a-metastudy-across-six-european-countries/3B8CE74EDE8C4F2382FCEC0685F7DE25 |journal=British Journal of Political Science |language=en |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=279–290 |doi=10.1017/S0007123416000521 |issn=0007-1234|hdl=10398/e5e90992-1d21-4681-b3a5-388699f5ecff |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

== British example script ==
The following is an excerpt from a script used by the [[Labour Party (UK)|UK Labour Party]] in the buildup to a general election for telephone canvassing:

:Hello, can I speak to ''(voter's name)'' please? Hello ''(voter's name)'' my name is ''(name)''. I'm calling on behalf of ''(MP/parliamentary spokesperson)''. I'm calling to find out your views on the Labour government's priorities. Which of the following do you think are the three most important priorities for the government? [Lists five policy areas – 'better schools', 'better hospitals', 'more jobs', 'less crime' and 'strong economy'] Let me tell you what Labour is doing in these areas and what the Tories would do if they were re-elected [refers to 'dividing lines' table where Conservative policies are compared unfavourably with Labour]. Now can I ask you which party you think you will vote for at the next general election?<ref name="script">Telephone canvassing script, [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], as published in How to Win an Election, Paul Richards, p.90-91</ref>

The script then divides into two sections based on whether the voter intends to support Labour or another party. The section for Labour supporters encourages the use of [[postal vote]]s, asks whether the individual would consider displaying a poster in their window or deliver leaflets on their street and asks whether the individual would consider joining the party.<ref name="script" /> The section for non-Labour voters asks the following questions:<ref name="script" />

# Which main political party do you identify with?
# There will be elections in ''(date)'', which party will you vote for at these elections?
# How did you vote in the last general election?
# Who would be your second choice?
# Do you vote at every election?

== United States constitutionality ==

Local governments in the United States have passed local laws to limit Americans' ability to canvass.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Patel |first=Tanvi |date=2024-02-21 |title=Essential Political Canvassing Laws For Your Election Campaign |url=https://callhub.io/blog/canvassing/political-canvassing-laws/ |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=CallHub |language=en-US}}</ref> Many of these challenges escalated to the Supreme Court, which has ruled overwhelmingly on the side of the public's right to canvass as protected by the First Amendment. For example, in ''[[Martin v. Struthers]]'', Justice Hugo Black stated:<ref>{{cite web |work=FindLaw |url=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=319&page=141 |title=MARTIN v. STRUTHERS, 319 U.S. 141 (1943), 319 U.S. 141, MARTIN v. CITY OF STRUTHERS, OHIO. No. 238. Argued March 11, 1943. Decided May 3, 1943. |access-date=January 3, 2015 |archive-date=February 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225034331/http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=US&vol=319&page=141 |url-status=live }}</ref><blockquote>Freedom to distribute information to every citizen wherever he desires to receive it is so clearly vital to the preservation of a free society that ... it must be fully preserved. To require a censorship through license which makes impossible the free and unhampered distribution of pamphlets strikes at the very heart of the constitutional guarantees.</blockquote>In 2002, the Supreme Court reconfirmed its conviction that canvassing is protected by U.S. First Amendment rights in ''[[Watchtower Society v. Village of Stratton]]''. Justice John Paul Stevens stated:<ref>{{cite web |work=FindLaw |url=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=536&page=150 |title=WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC., et al. v. VILLAGE OF STRATTON et al. certiorari to the united states court of appeals for the sixth circuit. No. 00-1737. Argued February 26, 2002--Decided June 17, 2002 |access-date=January 3, 2015 |archive-date=October 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018135235/http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=536&page=150 |url-status=live }}</ref><blockquote>It is offensive, not only to the values protected by the First Amendment, but to the very notion of a free society that in the context of everyday public discourse a citizen must first inform the government of her desire to speak to her neighbors and then obtain a permit to do so.</blockquote>

== See also ==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Commons category}}
* [[Deep canvassing]]
*[[Direct marketing]]
* [[Get out the vote]]
* [[Leaflet distribution]]
* [[Political campaigning]]
* [[Political consulting]]

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Election campaigning]]