For years the only canvassers we would get were from Ohio Citizen Action, which vaguely promised lower utility rates, "green" energy and other warm fuzzies. For the two years that I was a vendor to the electric company, I paid them no mind. Now canvassers typically hang out in front of the county offices (title bureau, bureau of motor vehicles, driver's license station, etc.) and are soliciting signatures for a referendum to place a measure on the ballot. Sometimes these efforts are worthwhile — a citizen's referendum banned smoking in public places and other times they are bizarre — the marijuana laws in this state are strange due to the referendum of a few years back that didn't constitutionally enshrine marijuana but instead codified the Ohio Revised Code, which can be changed by the Ohio General Assembly at any time. The next citizens initiative that needs to collect signatures is "to abolish property taxes." Your state laws may vary.
I live no where near DC, and I can assure you that door-to-door canvessers for anything fail to motivate me and nearly always are at least mildly annoying. Door-to-door anything these days seems both useless and possibly dangerous. Now how's that for cynicism? I'm sad to say that I am afflicted.
Years ago a friend of mine, in between his bachelor's degree and his entry to grad school, spent several months "canvassing" and soliciting donations for one of Robert Creamer's little scams.
He worked in the Madison/St Clair Counties, even then a very Democrat area.
He left after realizing that, aside from getting enough donations too (sometimes) pay the canvassers and Creamer's salary, it was fundamentally an effort to recruit and train Alinskyite young voters.
At the time, he didn't know who Saul Alinsky was. He figured that out later. He said after a while (the canvassers were frequently put up 8-10 in single motel rooms and moved from town to town) it became obvious they weren't that Different from the Hare Krishna types seen in airports.
Your last point is spot on. I live in a house with no front door, and delivery people drop packages on the driveway, in front of the garage (I actually ran over one driving out of my garage one time), and at my neighbor's house. Include a front door in your house. Not to do so creates other problems.
One of the comments has this to say: "I don't care what you say about career moves, find the right canvassing company and you can make enough to support your family, pay your bills, go on a nice vacation, down payment on something, or a startup. Definitely is the correct career move if you need money to accomplish some goals!"
And here's still another possibility: campaign staffers hire D-T-D canvassers because they need to spend campaign funds. Why? To prove to the candidate that they are doing something with all the money he is asking people to send him. Why does a candidate need money, after all, if s/he is not spending it.
I know that in some cases campaign organizations are paid a percentage of their "media buys," and I wonder if some campaigns are similarly paid a percentage of what they dispense to D-T-D canvassers. As I write this it seems unlikely, but sending canvassers to highly political neighborhoods doesn't look productive on the face of it, so one looks for unlikely reasons.
At the risk of seeming paranoid, I can’t help but wonder if the purpose of the exercise isn’t to lay the groundwork, not for an old-style GOTV effort, but for some form of “ballot-harvesting.”
From what I’ve read about it, in its earliest incarnation—that is, before it had curdled into the freak-show it is today—ballot-harvesters in Cali were instructed—or already knew—only to go to neighborhoods that were “target-rich environments.”
So maybe these kids are reporting back not so much what you said or whether you seemed responsive, but what sort of flag you have in your front yard.
Most political candidates lose. Many enter political races pretty sure they will lose. Political fundraising can be quite lucrative, though, if fundraising and campaigning are done correctly. Hiring clueless canvassers is one inexpensive way to show donors you are "doing something." And if your clueless canvassers are working in an area you are guaranteed to win, anyway, it might help dupe supporters into donating more funds since they see you are "doing something."
But if it is all just a rent-seeking scheme, then why do donors, and especially big donors, donate? It's that the big donations are small compared to the donor's total wealth, and is worth the gamble on the off-chance the candidate is elected (one has bought access) and for smaller donors all donate small amounts, but get the "warm glow" of "participating."
I suspect that I too am not sufficiently cynical; the truth is probably even stupider.
The problem is that those activists are not volunteers and after the elections they will claim some sort of payback in the form of a job paid by tax payers.
Another great post loaded with your keen insight. I lean toward both 3 and 4 being close to the truth. I often wonder about canvassers in general - I keep asking local party members who ascribe to the effectiveness of 'door knocking' and get very positive responses. To me it feel s more like planting Victory Gardens, doing more, as you point out, to convince the canvassers of the cause than producing a lot of fruit otherwise. I suppose in our more isolated way of life today that this replaces what used to be normal conversations at social gatherings, after church or at the local diner, and at things like the Rotary Club. Perhaps we need to find ways to reawaken those channels instead of relying on Instagram and endless texts.
Interesting. Back in the day (mid 1990's) a weekend-before-election-day canvass was traditional for the Fairfax County Young Republicans: we were dispatched to districts where polling was neck-and-neck.
But haven't seen a Canvasser in a decade or more, nowadays...
For years the only canvassers we would get were from Ohio Citizen Action, which vaguely promised lower utility rates, "green" energy and other warm fuzzies. For the two years that I was a vendor to the electric company, I paid them no mind. Now canvassers typically hang out in front of the county offices (title bureau, bureau of motor vehicles, driver's license station, etc.) and are soliciting signatures for a referendum to place a measure on the ballot. Sometimes these efforts are worthwhile — a citizen's referendum banned smoking in public places and other times they are bizarre — the marijuana laws in this state are strange due to the referendum of a few years back that didn't constitutionally enshrine marijuana but instead codified the Ohio Revised Code, which can be changed by the Ohio General Assembly at any time. The next citizens initiative that needs to collect signatures is "to abolish property taxes." Your state laws may vary.
I live no where near DC, and I can assure you that door-to-door canvessers for anything fail to motivate me and nearly always are at least mildly annoying. Door-to-door anything these days seems both useless and possibly dangerous. Now how's that for cynicism? I'm sad to say that I am afflicted.
Years ago a friend of mine, in between his bachelor's degree and his entry to grad school, spent several months "canvassing" and soliciting donations for one of Robert Creamer's little scams.
He worked in the Madison/St Clair Counties, even then a very Democrat area.
He left after realizing that, aside from getting enough donations too (sometimes) pay the canvassers and Creamer's salary, it was fundamentally an effort to recruit and train Alinskyite young voters.
At the time, he didn't know who Saul Alinsky was. He figured that out later. He said after a while (the canvassers were frequently put up 8-10 in single motel rooms and moved from town to town) it became obvious they weren't that Different from the Hare Krishna types seen in airports.
He left.
I aspire someday to have a house that is, in one respect only, like Slough House: in having no functioning front door.
But, alas, there are some deliveries made to the front door.
Your last point is spot on. I live in a house with no front door, and delivery people drop packages on the driveway, in front of the garage (I actually ran over one driving out of my garage one time), and at my neighbor's house. Include a front door in your house. Not to do so creates other problems.
I personally had not thought about canvassers and their income prior to this post, but apparently the estimate of $19/hr was low - at least according to this Reddit thread - https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalScience/comments/1cswsyp/is_canvassing_a_terrible_job_or_a_good_career_move/#
One of the comments has this to say: "I don't care what you say about career moves, find the right canvassing company and you can make enough to support your family, pay your bills, go on a nice vacation, down payment on something, or a startup. Definitely is the correct career move if you need money to accomplish some goals!"
And here's still another possibility: campaign staffers hire D-T-D canvassers because they need to spend campaign funds. Why? To prove to the candidate that they are doing something with all the money he is asking people to send him. Why does a candidate need money, after all, if s/he is not spending it.
I know that in some cases campaign organizations are paid a percentage of their "media buys," and I wonder if some campaigns are similarly paid a percentage of what they dispense to D-T-D canvassers. As I write this it seems unlikely, but sending canvassers to highly political neighborhoods doesn't look productive on the face of it, so one looks for unlikely reasons.
At the risk of seeming paranoid, I can’t help but wonder if the purpose of the exercise isn’t to lay the groundwork, not for an old-style GOTV effort, but for some form of “ballot-harvesting.”
From what I’ve read about it, in its earliest incarnation—that is, before it had curdled into the freak-show it is today—ballot-harvesters in Cali were instructed—or already knew—only to go to neighborhoods that were “target-rich environments.”
So maybe these kids are reporting back not so much what you said or whether you seemed responsive, but what sort of flag you have in your front yard.
☝️ This. This is the reason.
Most political candidates lose. Many enter political races pretty sure they will lose. Political fundraising can be quite lucrative, though, if fundraising and campaigning are done correctly. Hiring clueless canvassers is one inexpensive way to show donors you are "doing something." And if your clueless canvassers are working in an area you are guaranteed to win, anyway, it might help dupe supporters into donating more funds since they see you are "doing something."
But if it is all just a rent-seeking scheme, then why do donors, and especially big donors, donate? It's that the big donations are small compared to the donor's total wealth, and is worth the gamble on the off-chance the candidate is elected (one has bought access) and for smaller donors all donate small amounts, but get the "warm glow" of "participating."
I suspect that I too am not sufficiently cynical; the truth is probably even stupider.
[5] The parties are filtering the goofs for those capable of doing more advanced party work.
The problem is that those activists are not volunteers and after the elections they will claim some sort of payback in the form of a job paid by tax payers.
Another great post loaded with your keen insight. I lean toward both 3 and 4 being close to the truth. I often wonder about canvassers in general - I keep asking local party members who ascribe to the effectiveness of 'door knocking' and get very positive responses. To me it feel s more like planting Victory Gardens, doing more, as you point out, to convince the canvassers of the cause than producing a lot of fruit otherwise. I suppose in our more isolated way of life today that this replaces what used to be normal conversations at social gatherings, after church or at the local diner, and at things like the Rotary Club. Perhaps we need to find ways to reawaken those channels instead of relying on Instagram and endless texts.
There is a FIFTH possibility explaining the existence of door-to-door canvassers, and that has to do with aliens. That’s all I can say right now.
It's never a bad move to go more cynical, if only to keep from being surprised by human behavior.
Interesting. Back in the day (mid 1990's) a weekend-before-election-day canvass was traditional for the Fairfax County Young Republicans: we were dispatched to districts where polling was neck-and-neck.
But haven't seen a Canvasser in a decade or more, nowadays...