Cold Weather Canvassing
It’s that time of year again! Worried about the inevitable winter campaign slowdown? Or maybe you’re running for office in San Diego, in which case, we’re just jealous. For everyone else that’s stuck in the cold with us, the slowdown is not-so-inevitable if you use Reach to canvass voters in creative and new locations. Because you can use Reach to meet voters anywhere, it can be a much more effective canvassing tool for bad weather.
There are a ton of ways to use Reach in the winter months:
- Brave the cold! Break out the gloves, hats, scarves, and hot coffee. There are always dedicated volunteers willing to tough out the cold – Reach co-founder Jake spent weeks at 6:30am in February snow storms outside on subway platforms collecting petition signatures for AOC. When voters see your volunteers out there in gross weather, it makes them say, “Wow! These folks must really really care about this campaign and these issues. Maybe I ought to listen to what the have to say.”
- Hang out at your favorite local cafe or bar. Catch everyone when they’re grabbing a hot beverage or pick-me-up. Wearing some festive campaign swag helps as a conversation starter!
- Take advantage of the holiday spirit! Shopping malls are very high traffic around the holidays, temporary holiday villages are set up, and there’s a new holiday party every weekend. Meet new people at office parties, New Year’s gatherings, and holiday meals- you can even canvass Uncle Joe in his MAGA gear at Thanksgiving. 5’s are valuable data too!
- Post up in indoor high-traffic places. Meet new people in college/university common areas, transportation hubs/train stations, or even indoor pedestrian traffic areas like the skywalk in the video here.
Also, a bunch of your regular Reach spots come ready-made for cold weather:
- Everyday encounters like in line at Starbucks or at work.
- Event sign-in, campaign house parties, town hall meetings, and rallies.
- While phone banking and texting.
- Door-to-door in larger apartment buildings where canvassers spend most of their time indoors. Search an address of a big building in Reach and go knock every door.
- Relational Organizing! Find your friends and build out your Network. Much more on this here.
Instead of spending the first few months of the new year rebuilding volunteer momentum, you can keep it going through the winter and come into the new year a step ahead of the competition!
