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Why Does Canvassing Work?
Unformatted Document Text:  “Why Does Canvassing Work?” Pete Mohanty Graduate Student, University of Texas at Austin MPSA Conference 2008 Sec 23: Electoral Campaigns “Why Does Canvassing Work?” According to one estimate, grassroots voter mobilization accounted for roughly one-third of the increased voter turnout in the 2004 Presidential Election. Repeated field studies have shown that door-to-door canvassing increases voter turnout even when done by people with relatively little political or canvassing experience by up to 10% (Green and Gerber 2000; Gerber et. al 2003; Gerber et. al 2004). These results have been replicated in Canada and the United Kingdom and all across the country for several decades now (Kramer 1971; Price and Lupfer 1973; Carty and Eagles 1999; Pattie and Johnston 2003; Denver, Hands and MacAllister 2004). Canvassing is not only used for electioneering, petitioning and party-building activities, but also for fundraising by such diverse groups as Greenpeace, the Democratic National Committee, the American Civil Liberties Union and Save the Children. The Fund for Public Interest Research, which canvasses for such groups as the Sierra Club, US Public Interest Research Group and Human Rights Campaign, boasts having raised some $400 million over the last two decades in this fashion for such groups as and an organizational capacity to speak to 4.3 million people per year at the door. 1 So why does all of this work? Why are people moved to vote or to write large checks when someone knocks on their door? Why do some people give more than they are asked for? Why do people complain about phone calls from the organization the 1 http://www.ffpir.org/accomplishments.html Research Agenda Mohanty 1

Authors: Mohanty, Peter.
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“Why Does Canvassing Work?”
Pete Mohanty
Graduate Student, University of Texas at Austin
MPSA Conference 2008
Sec 23: Electoral Campaigns
“Why Does Canvassing Work?”
According to one estimate, grassroots voter mobilization accounted for roughly
one-third of the increased voter turnout in the 2004 Presidential Election. Repeated field
studies have shown that door-to-door canvassing increases voter turnout even when done
by people with relatively little political or canvassing experience by up to 10% (Green
and Gerber 2000; Gerber et. al 2003; Gerber et. al 2004). These results have been
replicated in Canada and the United Kingdom and all across the country for several
decades now (Kramer 1971; Price and Lupfer 1973; Carty and Eagles 1999; Pattie and
Johnston 2003; Denver, Hands and MacAllister 2004). Canvassing is not only used for
electioneering, petitioning and party-building activities, but also for fundraising by such
diverse groups as Greenpeace, the Democratic National Committee, the American Civil
Liberties Union and Save the Children. The Fund for Public Interest Research, which
canvasses for such groups as the Sierra Club, US Public Interest Research Group and
Human Rights Campaign, boasts having raised some $400 million over the last two
decades in this fashion for such groups as and an organizational capacity to speak to 4.3
million people per year at the door.
So why does all of this work? Why are people moved to vote or to write large
checks when someone knocks on their door? Why do some people give more than they
are asked for? Why do people complain about phone calls from the organization the
1
http://www.ffpir.org/accomplishments.html
Research Agenda
Mohanty 1


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