Campaign scripts: 5 door-to-door canvassing script examples

Canvassing door-to-door is one of the best ways to engage voters and spread the word about your political campaign or organization. However, the success of your canvassers largely depends on the scripts you give them. Your campaign scripts must be persuasive enough to sway or mobilize voters, concise enough to make good use of their time, and flexible enough to guide volunteers through many potential turns in the conversation. 

Crafting the perfect canvassing script is challenging for even the best campaign managers, field directors, and organizers. That’s why we’ve compiled this guide: to provide expert tips and several canvassing script examples to inspire your own.

Core components of an effective campaign script

To develop a strong canvassing script, you need to understand its goals and main components. The goals of the canvass itself can vary widely (and we’ll provide examples later). However, the objective of your campaign script is always to provide volunteers with clear instructions and language that aligns with your campaign’s messaging to use in conversations with voters.

Volunteers need guidance on what to say to voters, when to pivot the conversation, and how to gather the data your campaign needs to engage them. Your script should outline the entire conversation and account for different responses volunteers may receive.

At a minimum, this means your political canvassing script should include:

• An introduction that confirms the volunteer is speaking to the right person, includes the canvasser’s name, and shares a brief introduction to your campaign or organization.
• Opening questions that set the tone for the conversation, such as “Do you have a plan to vote in the upcoming election?” or “What issues are most important to you this election cycle?”
• More detailed, guided questions with branched responses. These questions should help volunteers gather data about voter preferences, concerns, and support for your campaign. Tailor follow-up questions and responses to different answers voters might give.
• Important information to share, such as facts about your candidate or organization, statistics about relevant issues, and voting information like polling places and early voting dates.
• A call to action that supports your goals for the canvass. You might ask voters to support your campaign, read campaign literature, sign up to volunteer, or vote early.
• A final thank you for their time, regardless of how long the conversation was or whether you earned their support.

We’ll explore each of these components in more detail using canvassing script examples that support different goals below.

Canvassing script best practices

Just like there are do’s and don’ts your volunteer canvassers should follow, those developing your canvassing scripts should keep a few best practices in mind:

• Use branched messaging. Branched scripts enable you to provide detailed, tailored responses based on voters’ likelihood of support. Someone opposing your campaign will need a very different appeal than a likely supporter, and branched campaign scripts help volunteers speak to every type of voter (we’ll go over an example later).
• Acknowledge voters’ concerns. Don’t just talk about your candidate or organization broadly — ask voters what issues they care about and explain how your campaign plans to address them. Plan thorough responses to any voter with concerns about your candidate’s key stances.
• Include compelling data to share. Back up every claim with facts about your candidate or organization and the issues at stake. Include relevant bills your candidate voted on or  bills your organization supported or opposed, actions they’ve taken, or data you’ve gathered firsthand from community members. You might also include past election data, like voter turnout rates, to emphasize the importance of every vote.

Remember that your scripts alone can’t prepare volunteers for every conversation. Be sure to supplement effective canvassing scripts with comprehensive training, roleplay conversations, and other resources volunteers can use to help them navigate their turfs. Equip them with canvassing tools like MiniVAN and the contact information of an organizer they can go to for help.

Additionally, remind your volunteers to leave a piece of campaign literature at every door — just not in mailboxes (that’s against canvassing laws). You won’t leave instructions for distributing literature in the script itself, so remind volunteers at every opportunity.

5 door-to-door canvassing script examples

Now that you know the basics, let’s look at five canvassing script examples that support different goals your campaign might have.

1. Voter ID script

Voter identification helps your campaign discover voters’ likelihood of support for your campaign and clarify which issues are important to them. A voter ID script should include a very brief introduction to your campaign and questions about voters’ stances and voting methods.

Here’s an example canvassing script we created using VAN that uses branched messaging to help you ID voters:

• Introduction: “Hi, can I speak with [voter], please?”
  • If YES, move to the next prompt. If NO, ask if the voter you want to contact still lives there and mark the appropriate response.
• If YES: “Hi, [voter], my name is [volunteer name] and I’m a volunteer with [campaign or candidate name] and they’re running to be your [position title]. [Insert a few very concise message points here. No more than three.] Can [candidate] count on your vote on [election date]?”
• If STRONG or LEAN SUPPORT: “That’s great! [Candidate] will be so happy to hear that! Have you made your plan to vote?”
  • [Record vote method.]
  • “Thanks again for your support, [voter]. As we continue speaking to voters around the district, would you be interested in volunteering for the campaign?”
  • [Record answer.] 
  • “We’re also hoping to show support in the district for the campaign. Would you be willing to place a sign in your yard to show your support?”
  • [Record answer.]
  • “Thank you for your time, and have a nice [day/night]!”
• If UNDECIDED/LEAN OPPOSE: “I understand that you may want to learn more about [candidate] before deciding how you’ll vote. Are there any questions that I could answer for you or any important issues I could discuss with you?”
  • [Attempt to match your candidate’s stance on the issues with those of the voter. Provide main message points volunteers can use for reference.]
  • “Based on those points, do you think [candidate] is someone you can vote for on or before [Election Day]?”
  • [Record answer and proceed from there.]
• If STRONG OPPOSE: “Thank you for your time, and have a nice [day/night]!”

While the purpose of this script is mainly to ID voters, it’s also a chance to get your foot in the door with undecided and lean opposition voters by talking about the issues that are important to them. Once you know more about your voters’ concerns and sort them into mobilization and persuasion universes, you can create more detailed scripts for canvassing and use them later in your campaign.

2. Volunteer recruitment script

Volunteers are essential to a successful campaign, so many canvasses have a secondary aim to recruit more supporters willing to take action. First, your canvassers should work through a list of personal and party connections to target those most likely to volunteer. After that, you can use your volunteer recruitment script for voters who you’ve marked as likely supporters.

Most often, campaigns add a volunteer recruitment message to the end of another canvassing script. To recruit volunteers, you might use a linear message like this one:

• [Script begins after a voter expresses their support for your campaign]
• “We’re so grateful for your support! We wouldn’t be where we are today without dedicated supporters like you. As we work to [campaign goal or stance], we need all the help we can get. Would you be willing to volunteer with our campaign by making calls or going door-to-door?”
• [If YES, move on. If NO, say thanks and give contact information.]
• “Great, thank you so much!” Mark them with an Activist Code in MiniVAN, sign them up to volunteer on your campaign website, or give them a link to sign up for a shift that works with their schedule.

If voters say no to volunteering, you can always ask them to take a smaller action, such as putting up a yard sign or telling their friends to vote. No matter what, have canvassers record every response.

3. Voter persuasion script

Canvassing your persuasion universe involves targeting those less likely to support your campaign on their own. This may include voters who don’t know about your campaign, members of other parties, and those who are otherwise unlikely to vote for your candidate due to a certain stance or issue. A persuasion script aims to facilitate conversations that encourage these voters to rethink their voting plans and support your campaign or cause.

Branched messaging is highly important for these canvassing scripts since volunteers must be prepared to appeal to various voter stances. After the volunteer introduces themselves and the campaign, the rest of your persuasion script might branch off like this:

• “Can we count on your vote for [candidate or cause] on [Election Day]?”
• If YES: “Great, thank you so much for your support! Election Day is on *insert election date* — how do you plan on voting this year?” Link this answer to your vote method Survey Question.
• If UNDECIDED: “Got it. I understand you might want to learn more about [candidate or cause] before you vote. They want to:
  • [Discuss the candidate’s or cause’s standpoint on key issues relevant to the voter’s priorities.] 
  • “Based on that information, do you think we can count on your vote for [candidate or cause]?”
  • If YES: “Thanks for your support! [Candidate or cause] looks forward to [fulfilling campaign promise] with your help.”
  • If UNDECIDED: “Thanks for speaking with me about [key issues] today. If you want to learn more, here’s some additional information about [candidate or cause]. We hope we can earn your support!”
  • If NO: “Understood — thanks for your time and have a great [day/night].”
• If NO: “Understood — thanks for your time and have a great [day/night].”

Your discussion with undecided voters and voters leaning against your campaign should be fairly extensive in these scripts. Consider writing out responses for undecided voters based on multiple talking points or concerns they may have. This way, volunteers will be prepared to engage all kinds of voters.

4. Issue-based canvassing script

If your campaign or organization wants to learn more about voters’ opinions or engage them in dialogues about a specific issue, use an issue-based canvassing script. These scripts are for securing votes based on the conversations, recruiting volunteers, securing petition signatures, or just better understanding voters’ positions. These scripts are often used for deep canvassing, in which you ask open-ended questions to facilitate complex conversations.

In this canvassing script example, volunteers with a ballot initiative campaign discuss voters’ opinions on improving local public schools:

• Introduction: “Hi, am I speaking with [voter name]? Perfect, my name is [volunteer name], and I’m with [organization name]. We’re reaching out to voters to understand their opinions around improving our local public schools. Is public education an important concern for you in this election?”
  
• If YES: [Discuss the topic more by prompting the voter to share their opinion and recording their responses, asking questions like:]
  • “How satisfied are you with the quality of public education in [city/county]?”
  • “What aspects of our school system do you think need improvement?”
  • “What changes would you like to see in our schools if they receive more funding?”
• If UNDECIDED: [Share facts and/or personal stories demonstrating public schools’ need for funding, impact on children’s wellbeing, etc., and your candidate’s or organization’s stance.]
  • “Based on that information, do you see public education factoring into your decision on [Election Day]? Can you explain why or why not?”
• If NO: Got it, we understand that other issues are important to voters, too. Would you be willing to discuss public education more so we can better understand your stance?”
  • If YES: Thank you so much! How satisfied are you with the quality of public education in our area? If you could change anything, what would it be?”
  • If NO: No worries, thank you for your time. If you change your mind, you can learn more about [candidate’s or organization’s] plans for improving public schools here. Have a great [day/night].”

For a more detailed example of how you might tailor these campaign scripts to different audiences and opinions, take a look at this deep canvassing report from the People’s Action Institute. 

The report breaks down several parts of the organization’s script for discussing universal healthcare with voters. Canvassers were instructed to create a non-judgmental atmosphere, share narratives about immigration, and address the voter’s concerns throughout the conversation.

5. GOTV script

Canvassing your mobilization universe for Get Out the Vote (GOTV) requires a dedicated script that discusses voting methods and information sharing. Your goal with this canvassing script is to mobilize identified and likely supporters to head to the polls and vote. This typically involves doing one more quick ID to verify their support, marking their voting method in your database, and encouraging them to vote.

In VAN, we created a sample GOTV script you can use to boost turnout. After verifying that the voter supports your campaign, our script asks about voting methods:

• “Have you made your plan to vote?”
• If MAIL: “Thanks for voting early by mail!” [Share any relevant vote by mail information, such as dates that applications need to be sent in, when ballots need to be received, etc.]
• If EARLY: “Early voting is a great choice!” [Share early voting dates and times, locations closest to them, and encourage them to take their friends and family to vote early, too.]
• If ELECTION DAY: “[IF APPLICABLE] Did you know you can vote early or by mail here? Election Day can be busy, and we want to make sure everyone has the chance to vote, which is why we’re encouraging people to vote early if they can!”
  • [Share early voting or vote by mail deadlines and dates]
  • “However, if you still want to vote on Election Day, the polls are open from [times and relevant items they need to bring with them to vote].”
• If ALREADY VOTED: “Great, thanks for voting this year! We appreciate it! Thanks for your time, and have a nice [day/night]!”

For those who don’t yet have a plan to vote or want more details, be ready with information like early voting dates and polling locations. With the right canvassing app, your volunteers can quickly pull up information about each voter’s polling location and share it with them.

Using MiniVAN to streamline your canvassing scripts

Leading campaign tools like VAN and MiniVAN make it easy for you to create linear and branched scripts your volunteers can easily access while canvassing. Within VAN, you can write detailed canvassing scripts complete with dynamic elements, rearrangeable questions, and easy-to-follow directions for canvassers.

To streamline the script creation process with VAN, all you have to do is follow these steps:

1. Create Survey Questions and Activist Codes.
2. Use Activist Codes to mark people as prospective volunteers, voters who want yard signs, etc.
3. Choose linear or branched scripts.
4. Add text and dynamic script elements like Survey Questions.
5. Connect branched script responses with the next questions and rearrange them as needed.
6. Choose Canvass Result options for volunteers to mark in your database.

Once you’ve developed your scripts, volunteers can use MiniVAN to access canvassing lists and scripts from their devices, view and navigate their assigned turfs, and easily record voter data and notes in VAN. 

Get inspired by our canvassing script examples.

These examples are just the start of what your campaign or organization can do with its canvassing scripts. Use these examples as a starting point, but don’t be afraid to dive deeper and try different strategies that work for your target audience. With the right tools and powerful scripts, your volunteers will be ready for a successful canvass.