Connect2Elect: Reunions for Democracy

No experience is necessary to go on one of these trips. Each campaign will offer training about each candidate before we go out canvassing. Canvassers typically go out in pairs and we try to match experienced canvassers with newer volunteers.

Yes!—especially if you can canvass for 4 days or more. Canvassing is a very effective form of voter mobilization. Campaigns rely on volunteers like us for canvassing because it is difficult and expensive to hire sufficient numbers of competent canvassers for these temporary roles.

You will need to cover travel costs and meals.

We hope to be able to offer free housing from local CGB hosts for those who are interested, on a first- come, first-served basis.

In Arizona, Seed the Vote can offer financial assistance for those who need it to cover travel costs (flight, housing, rental car). In the other locations, similar assistance may be available: contact Janet Singer to learn more.

We likely will be able to provide some cars, but there may be a need to rent a car.  

CGB will organize these trips alongside state team leaders and local partners.

There will be meetings beforehand for canvassers to get acquainted, get preliminary canvassing training, and finalize logistics.

Our volunteer leaders will organize the canvassing efforts, provide preliminary canvassing training, match canvassers with campaign organizers (either through the Democratic Party or grassroots organizations), and match as many out-of-town canvassers who request housing with CGB hosts as we can.

We will facilitate community-building activities like post-canvassing dinners, morning coffees, and some sightseeing.

Although the details may vary, here is a general structure: 

Meet up at assigned location–candidate’s office or group headquarters–or, if you already have an assignment, head to the neighborhood where you will be canvassing.

The campaign will get you oriented to the candidates up and down the ballot, local issues, and the neighborhood. 

You will get literature to drop and receive your walk list.

You will read through the script on MiniVan (the app that campaigns use to record canvassing results). Review the talking points and make the script your own.

Plan how you’ll tackle your list–where you’ll go first, etc.

Canvassing

• Head out in pairs or trios, typically including an experienced canvasser! 

• Knock as many doors as you can 

• Break when you need to

At the end of the day, we may gather to debrief and preview plans for the next day.

On some evenings, we’ll have local fun, or canvassers may choose to dine or explore the city together.

We will arrange for as many local hosts as possible. You also have the option to arrange your own accommodations.

In AZ, our local partner will provide hotel rooms.

Not everyone will need a car. Canvassing typically requires a vehicle, but we will be canvassing in groups of two or three, so we can share.

If you can bring a car or rent one, please let us know when you fill out the C2E Canvasser Questionnaire.

We will try to accommodate people who do not have access to a vehicle and/or cannot drive.

Yes. CGB members are encouraged to bring friends and family with them to canvass, whether or not they have a connection to Harvard. Not only will that increase the number of voters we can reach, it will also increase the fun.

In each location, there will be CGB leader to help things run smoothly. We will also have one or more local partners, which may a Democratic campaign or grassroots group.

The local partners help us target the most valuable doors to knock, provide the maps and lists for get-out-the-vote canvassing, train CGB volunteers, provide campaign literature, and serve as a resource for us as questions/issues arise.

You can join for all or part of the trip. However, we are asking CGB members to commit at least four days, and preferably a full week to C2E trips so we can maximize members’ contribution. Each day of work makes volunteers more effective and productive and amortizes the cost of travel, so longer trips are ideal.

Yes! If you have an extra bed or room(s), you’d do a great service if you offered it to one or more members on the trip - whether or not you can canvass yourself. We also need people to organize evening gatherings and lend cars. Contact Janet Singer if you can help with housing or a car.

Yes. While the C2E trips are about ensuring people vote and committing our full days to canvassing, they are also a great opportunity to have time with Harvard friends old and new.

There will be lots of opportunities to get to know other CGBers and their guests. These may include morning coffee, afternoon debriefs, evening city adventures, and possibly gathering in the home of one of our local hosts. These are optional activities, but we encourage you to participate and have FUN!  

Think of it like any other trip. The sooner you plan for it, the easier it will be. You’ll get lower rates for transportation and lodging.

Furthermore, by blocking off this time in advance, you are helping local hosts and the CGB team ensure that on-the-ground operations run as smoothly as possible. Signing up as early as you can is an enormous help to everyone involved.

Be prepared to be on the ground for 8 hours a day and pack accordingly: Cell phones (please have MiniVAN downloaded from the Apple or Google Play Store), portable batteries, comfortable walking shoes, water bottle, rain jacket, pens, and an upbeat attitude.

If you’ve had experience in the past engaging voters, we need your expertise to support the many first-timers who will be joining C2E.

Additionally, if you speak a second language, that can be a very valuable asset. We will make an effort to give you opportunities to canvass in neighborhoods where you can use that language to engage voters.

We will canvassers who have requested housing with hosts on a rolling basis, subject to availability. We are prioritizing people who can stay the longest and will likely only be able to offer housing to individuals and/or pairs of canvassers.

To facilitate the matching process, we will ask you to fill out an online questionnaire shortly after you register. We will try to assign housing within a week after receiving your form.

We suggest you reserve a refundable Airbnb or hotel room in case we are unable to match you with a host.

You will receive access to an online “briefing document” that will include:

• Background information about the races we will be supporting and the communities in which we will be canvassing

• Local contact information

• Lists of C2E participants who are canvassing in your location

Swing states never have enough local canvassers to reach all the potential Democratic voters.

In October and early November, local activists have been working for months and welcome the infusion of new energy that out-of-state volunteers provide.

When you're from out of town, it's essential to take direction from the local organizers. The campaigns will let you know the issues that are most important to local voters and they will provide important local information--like how to correctly pronounce local place names, or the fact that you don't knock doors during Sunday church time in Georgia or big football games in Michigan.

We will mostly be canvassing in cities where it is usual to have residents from other places. Voters rarely ask where you're from, but if they do, messages like this are usually well received: "I care about the future of my country and I'm from the blue state of Massachusetts where my vote doesn't matter as much as yours. I've traveled here to help get out the vote in this race that is important to all of us."