Door-to-Door Canvassing Field Guide

INDIVISIBLE BOCA RATON

2026 Midterm Election Cycle

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Program Overview

Indivisible Boca Raton's canvassing program is built on one core insight: most voter contact starts too late, talks to too few people, and stops the moment an election ends. We are doing it differently.

We model our approach on Ground Truth, a people-powered canvassing program that treats every voter as worth a real conversation. That means knocking on every door in a neighborhood, not just registered Democrats, not just likely voters, and returning more than once to build an actual relationship over time.

The emotional landscape across the electorate is dominated by disillusionment. Voters of every registration are tired of feeling ignored. Studies show two-thirds of voters who answer the door are willing to have a genuine 10 to 15 minute conversation, and a significant share of voters registered or modeled as Republican express concern about the current political direction when given the chance to speak freely. That is our opening.

This guide gives you the tools to walk into any conversation, friendly, skeptical, or outright hostile, and come out having planted something worth coming back to.

Ground Rules Before You Knock

• Always canvass in pairs. One person leads the conversation; the other takes notes and stays aware of the surroundings.

• Log every contact in the canvassing app immediately after leaving the door. Notes are as important as ratings.

• You are not here to win an argument. You are here to open a door, literally and figuratively.

• Listen more than you talk. The ratio should be 70/30 in their favor.

• Never debate, never condescend, never roll your eyes. Even if you are appalled.

• Lead with curiosity. Ask open-ended questions. "Tell me more about that" goes further than any talking point.

• Find shared values before you share your own. Family, community, safety, fairness, most voters agree on more than they realize.

• Your goal at the first visit is connection, not conversion. Leave them with a positive impression of you as a neighbor.

• If a conversation turns hostile, thank them for their time and leave. Do not escalate.

The Conversation Framework

Every door follows the same basic arc, regardless of who answers:

1. CONNECT	Introduce yourself as a neighbor and volunteer. Be warm, not rehearsed.
2. LISTEN	Ask an open-ended question about what matters to them right now. Then stop talking.
3. PROBE	Follow up with "tell me more about that" or "how has that affected your family?" Let them go deeper.
4. FIND COMMON GROUND	Identify the value underneath their concern. Safety, fairness, stability, opportunity. Reflect it back.
5. BRIDGE	Share briefly why you care, connecting your values to theirs. One or two sentences maximum.
6. ASK	Make your action item requests. Scale them to how open the conversation was.

Standard Introduction

Use this at every door before you read the room and adapt:

"Hi, my name is ___ and I'm a volunteer with Indivisible Boca Raton. We're out in the neighborhood today just talking with people about what's on their minds so we can better represent our community.

What's one issue that's been weighing on you lately?"

Then stop. Wait. Let them answer. Whatever they say, your next move is to reflect and probe, not to respond with a talking point.

Handling Different Voter Types

Read the conversation quickly and place the voter in one of the five categories below. Your script and your action item asks shift accordingly. The warmer the voter, the more you ask.

🟢 HOT - Enthusiastic Supporter
THEY MIGHT SAY	"I already donate. I voted straight Democrat. I can't stand what's happening to this country. What can I do?"
YOU SAY	"That's exactly the energy we need right now. The single most powerful thing any of us can do is make sure our neighbors show up. We're building a real ground operation here in Boca, people who are informed, connected, and ready to act. I'd love to get you plugged in."

ACTION ITEMS TO REQUEST
1.	Sign up for our newsletter, stay current on every local race and action alert
2.	Subscribe to our Media Team Substack for in-depth reporting on what's happening in Palm Beach County
3.	Follow us on social media and share our posts to extend our reach
4.	Visit indivisiblebocaraton.org/volunteer to fill out our volunteer form and let us know to what degree you’re willing to help.
5.	Attend an upcoming candidate forum. Meet the people running for office
6.	Join us at an upcoming protest or action.
7.	If you're not yet registered or your mail ballot registration has lapsed, let's get that fixed right now, and we'll follow up with you before the August 18 primary to make sure you're set

🟡 WARM - Sympathetic but Disengaged
THEY MIGHT SAY	"Yeah, I agree things are a mess. I just don't really follow politics that closely. I voted last time, I think."
YOU SAY	"That's completely understandable. It's exhausting to keep up with everything. That's actually why we're out here. We're trying to make it easier for people to stay connected without having to watch the news every night. We put out a newsletter and videos that cut through the noise and focuses on what's happening right here in our community."

ACTION ITEMS TO REQUEST
1.	Sign up for our newsletter, you can always unsubscribe if you find it’s not for you.
2.	Follow us on social media for quick updates
3.	Visit indivisiblebocaraton.org - bookmark it for when you want more
4.	Attend a candidate forum. It’s a low-commitment, high-value way to get informed
5.	If your mail ballot registration has lapsed, let's get that sorted. We'll remind you before August 18

⚫ COLD - Skeptical or Checked Out
THEY MIGHT SAY	"I don't really vote. Politicians are all the same. Nothing ever changes anyway."
YOU SAY	"I hear that a lot, and honestly, that frustration is completely legitimate. The system has let a lot of people down. The reason I'm out here talking to neighbors instead of sending you a mailer is because I think the only thing that actually changes anything is people in a community deciding to show up together. Not for a party - for each other. I'm not going to try to talk you into anything today. But if you ever want to see what we're actually doing out here, our website is a good place to start."

ACTION ITEMS TO REQUEST
1.	Visit indivisiblebocaraton.org for our events and videos. No sign-up required, just take a look
2.	Follow us on social media, low stakes, easy to unfollow if it's not for you. (Have QR code ready)
3.	Sign up for our newsletter, you can always unsubscribe

🔴 MAGA REPUBLICAN - Committed Opposition
THEY MIGHT SAY	"I'm a Trump supporter. I'm not interested. You're wasting your time." / "The Democrats destroyed this country."
YOU SAY	"I respect that, and I'm not here to change your mind. I just wanted to introduce myself as a neighbor. Honestly, what I hear from people across the board, Republicans, Democrats, independents, is that most folks feel like the system isn't working for ordinary people anymore. I think most of us agree on more than cable news would have us believe. I won't take up more of your time. I appreciate you answering the door."

ACTION ITEMS TO REQUEST
1.	Leave a card or flyer with indivisiblebocaraton.org. No ask, no pressure
2.	If they express any ambivalence at all: invite them to visit the website at their own pace

TRADITIONAL REPUBLICAN - Persuadable Conservative
THEY MIGHT SAY	"I've always voted Republican but I'm not happy with the direction things are going. I don't know anymore." / "I believe in fiscal responsibility and less government, but this all feels chaotic."
YOU SAY	"That's something I'm hearing from a lot of people who have voted Republican their whole lives. The values haven't changed. Stability, accountability, institutions that work, but the party has. We're not asking you to become a Democrat. We're asking you to stay informed and think carefully about who is actually delivering on those values right now. Local races especially school board, county commission those are places where your vote has direct impact on your daily life, regardless of party."

ACTION ITEMS TO REQUEST
1.	Sign up for our newsletter. Specifically mention local race coverage.
2.	Subscribe to our Media Team Substack. Frame it as accountability journalism, not partisan content
3.	Visit indivisiblebocaraton.org and look at the candidate forum videos
4.	Attend a candidate forum. Meet candidates directly and draw your own conclusions
5.	Follow us on social media - indivisiblebocaraton.org
6.	If they express openness to reconsidering their vote: make sure their mail ballot registration is current and offer a follow-up contact closer to August 18

Quick Reference: Phrases That Work

INSTEAD OF	SAY
Progressive values	Shared values
Activism	Community involvement
Mobilizing voters	Encouraging participation
Fighting back	Holding people accountable
Systemic injustice / Civil Rights	Fairness and accountability
Our base/members/supporters	Our neighbors
Why did you vote for that?	Tell me more about what you were hoping for
That's not true	I've heard it differently. What's your source on that?

Logging Your Contact

Every door answered, or not, gets logged in the canvassing app immediately after you leave. Do not rely on memory. Here's what to capture:

• Voter type: Hot / Warm / Cold / MAGA Republican / Traditional Republican

• Top issue they raised, in their own words if possible

• Action items they agreed to

• Best time to return for a follow-up visit

• Any specific follow-up promised (VBM check, event invitation, resource referral)

• Anything unusual about the interaction worth flagging to your team leader

Qualitative notes are as valuable as the rating. A voter coded COLD who mentioned they used to volunteer for their local fire department is a future conversation waiting to happen. Write it down.

The One Thing to Remember

You are not here to win today.

You are here to make someone feel heard - possibly for the first time in a long time. If you do that, you will be back. And the second conversation is where things actually change.