Running a Block Walk
Step-by-step instructions on planning and preparing for your block walk
txdem.co/blockwalk
The 6 “Buckets” of Preparation to Consider:
Pick the right voters, time, & place 2
Pick the right voters, time, & place
What is your current goal?
Example: Remind newly registered and low propensity likely Democratic voters of election dates, candidates, and processes to increase their likelihood of voting
Example: Run persuasion outreach with “Lean Democratic” voters or whose partisanship is unknown
What VAN Targets & Scores best align to achieving this goal?
Targets: curated lists of people to contact for specific purposes, including recent contacts. Mor info here: tdxdem.co/tdp-targets
Note: If you have limited block walking volunteers/time, it is suggested that you prioritize these Target in this order:
2022 Statewide Coordinated: Target with Recent Contact
2022 Voter Contact Targets (Detailed): Medium Frequency Voters
2022 Voter Contact Targets (Detailed): Recent Registrants
What considerations around weather, the work schedule of volunteers & voters, safety, and logistics do you need to keep in mind when determining dates and times?
What are the right geographic parameters?
Example: Voters in Commissioners Precinct 4, where a Democrat is running for Commissioners Court
Example: Voting precincts 1, 2 & 7 because we’re focusing on the east part of the county this week
Create a list with VAN
Log into your VAN account at TexasVan.com. If you are unable to log in, email vanhelp@txdemocrats.org.
Make sure you are under the “My Voters” tab. Click “Create a List.”
Set the relevant parameters for the voters you want to reach. Common categories for voter outreach lists include:
Home District: Select your county. Click on the blue text of a category to select multiples (e.g., Precincts 2 & 3).
Targets:
“Include people in ANY of the following” will cast a wider net.
“Include people in ALL of the following” will only pick people who meet all selected criteria.
More details on using targets:
Scores: Scores are most useful if your Targets are focused on new voters, infrequent voters, and/or voters with limited data. TDP Partisan Scores of 60+ are likely Democrats. If you are using Targets these can often be redundant, so it’s okay to leave Scores out of your filter unless you are reaching out to newly registered voters, infrequent voters, or voters with no recorded contact history
More details on using scores:
Activist History, Voting History, Age, Likely Ethnicity, and Likely Religion are all other useful filters that can be strategically applied.
Click the blue “Preview My Results” button to see how many people populate the list. Add or subtract filters as needed to reach a number of voters that is feasible based on your volunteer capacity. Click the green “Run Search” button when you’re ready.
Save this list with the “Save List As” button. Be sure to select “Save Search” so that when you go back to this list it will include updated records.
*We will return to this list and this screen when we “Cut Turf with VAN”*
Once you know how many doors you need to knock, then you can determine how many volunteers you’ll need to recruit.
For example, if you’re doing a GOTV block walk in a dense neighborhood with lots of doors of highly reliable Democratic voters to knock, one experienced volunteer can reach 30-40 houses in two hours of door knocking.
If this were the case for the above example list of 564 doors, I need 14 two hour volunteer shifts, and therefore would set my volunteer recruitment goal for 28 two hour volunteer shifts (14 needed shifts X 2 in case some people don’t show up).
If your volunteers will be driving between neighborhoods, are first time block walkers, have mobility considerations, and/or are doing persuasion related outreach to voters for whom we are less sure of their voting behavior, you’ll want to increase the number of volunteers you’re recruiting and reduce the number of doors you’re expecting each person to knock. It is important to set door knocking goals that are attainable so that volunteers feel a sense of accomplishment when they are done with their shift. We will revisit this strategy in “Cut Turf” in VAN.
“Cut Turf” with VAN
Return to this screen from the “Create a List in VAN” section or pull up the previously saved list by going through “My Folders.” From here, click “Cut Turf.”
Click on the map to drop corners for whatever shapes you need.
You will want one turf per volunteer/volunteer pairing. Generally you want to aim for 40-50 doors per turf, but based on how spread out they are, you may increase or decrease that range.
Note that some shapes are very large because they’re spread out (ex: Turf 1, 2 and 3) and some are tiny since they’re very densely populated (ex: Turf 6). The black dots are a guide but use the pop-up box on the right to check that the (people/households) results make sense based on our goals and parameters.
Once you have created your shapes (aka “turfs”) you will click “Save and Finish” in the top right corner.
Complete the Save My Map Region pop-up. One way to organize these resources is to describe the date and geographic/district parameters in the “Region Name” and the goal and targets used to create the list in the “Description.”
Utilize the “2022 GOTV Script.” Check the box for “Print Early Vote Location Cover Sheet” starting in late September so block walk volunteers have the right information regarding locations and hours for each neighborhood.
Click “Generate List Number” in the bottom right to take to the next screen.
Now that the lists of voters are made and turfs based on those voters are established, we need to export this information so volunteers can use it to find the right houses. You have two options: printed lists and the MiniVAN phone app. MiniVAN is the preferred method when possible since it most easily lends itself to capturing and sharing relevant data.
On the right hand side select “My Turfs” to see this screen. Select the turfs that you will have volunteers walking, and you will export those lists by clicking the “Quick Actions” drop down menu and select “Print.”
If your volunteers won’t have access to WiFi or be able to use the MiniVAN phone app while block walking, then you would print the list and then have volunteers record their notes on the printed sheet. That data would then need to be entered into VAN manually using grid view. However, best practice is to print a list only as a supplement to the MiniVAN app.
Recruit Volunteers
Utilize personal networks
Invite your friends
Check out the training on building a volunteer network
Share via “Connect Texas.” Start your account setup by filling out this link txdem.co/ConnectTexasInquiryForm
Public plea through existing platforms
Email/texting outreach
Social media followers
Use Mobilize for outreach (see above for directions on how to share the link and utilize event tags)
Phone Bank potential volunteers *The most effective way to recruit volunteers*
Create a List in VAN (see directions above) using the following Targets (“Recent Volunteer” and “Likely Volunteer”), or call your Precinct Chairs or previous volunteers
Call these people to ask if they can sign up for a specific shift
Leave voicemails and send a follow up text message
Collaborate with allied groups
Send an email (and follow up with a text) to leaders of allied organizations to ask them to promote your event. Send them a few sentences they can include in an email or on social media and the RSVP link.County parties and campaigns
Unions, PACs, clubs, businesses, and 501(c)4 organizations
Sync with MiniVAN
MiniVAN is not required for a successful block walk. The alternative is to take notes on printed lists and update VAN once the volunteer returns with notes about each door that was knocked (who answered, if the voter file information was accurate, etc.). This does take more time but is a possible alternative for those running block walks in areas without reliable internet connections.
To Sync with MiniVAN:
Have the volunteer download the MiniVAN app on their phone.
The volunteer will log in with an ActionID. This is the same ID used for their VAN account on a computer. New volunteers who don’t have VAN accounts can follow the prompts to create an ActionID that will give them the appropriate level of access (enough to help with the block walk, not enough to access the rest of VAN).
Enter the 13 digit number generated in the “Last Out/Distributed” column to assign the volunteer to a specific turf.
See the addresses and voters at each address through the map view.
Have the volunteer review the script 2-3 times before their first knock. If they have a partner, practice with them.
The more familiar they are with the gist of the script, the better. We don't want them to read word for word, but we want the main points to be shared with each voter and the reactions of the voter to be documented so we know who still needs follow-up contacts.
Once familiar with the script, they can have more natural, free flowing conversations and can ease into asking the survey question and documenting the response. It's basically a multiple choice question, and they just go down the line.
It is also helpful to provide a printed copy of the script, which can be shared electronically with the county chair.
Commit the data/enter the data by going to the miniVAN Commit tab. You will want to review the data for anomalies (ex: a volunteer marking a lot of doors as ‘inaccessible’). After verifying that the data looks good, select the check box and hit commit.
Prepare Your People
Give Them Resources
Printed maps
A lit piece/slate card/door hanger identifying the candidate(s) they’re talking to the voter(s) about or other voting information - something to leave behind with the voter
Stickers, signs, buttons - anything to give them legitimacy
Contact information for reaching someone at home base
Election specific details- significant dates, polling locations
Candidate/policy specific details & talking points
Best Practices:
Safety first- no touch point is worth putting a volunteer in danger
Use good judgment- you won’t change some people’s minds
You are our party’s ambassador- you might be the first known Democrat some neighbors have seen, so be friendly, safe, and respectful
Use stories & values to connect - see this link for more resources
Know your goal and your “dismount” - practice how to exit conversations from both excited supporters and negatively charged interactions
End with an ask- “Can I count on you to vote for [candidate/policy] on [date]?”
Have volunteers check out either in person or with a text - both to ensure the block walk went smoothly/safely and so that you can celebrate them in your response
Every interaction matters - train your volunteers to record any off-list conversations they have while walking. Learn more about recording conversations with off-list voters here: FAQ - MiniVAN Quick Look Up (txdem.co/MiniVANQLU)
Celebrate Your Volunteers!
Thank them profusely
Underscore what they accomplished
Invite them back
Follow up with Volunteer 1:1s for the “ladder of engagement” for your all-star volunteers
Where can I get more help?
Our FAQ - txdem.co/van-faq
Submit a help ticket - txdem.co/van-help
See an outline of these directions in PowerPoint form - txdem.co/RunningABlockWalk
See recorded “Running a Block Walk” training - txdem.co/blockwalk-training
To see an example of someone training volunteers that are about to go block walking - Check out the lesson “Demo: Canvass Training”