How do you get a nonvoter to vote?
The secret, according to the “deep canvassers” of Changing the Conversation for Progress (CTC), is to share a story about someone you love — and listen to a nonvoter’s story about someone they love. That’s it.
If that approach sounds odd, or difficult, longtime trainers in door-to-door deep canvassing will assure you, it’s both effective and quite straightforward.
What’s more, says CTC founding director Adam Barbanel-Fried of the 2020 presidential race, “As [voters’] past voting history went down, our impact went up. The people who had no history of voting for president, including in 2012 or 2008, were 29 percent more likely to vote when we had a deep canvassing conversation with them.”
Representatives from CTC and partners from civic engagement and voter participation nonprofit Better Civics and PA Youth Vote worked in small groups with about 30 guests of The Philadelphia Citizen at The Fitler Club on Tuesday, June 21. Together, these “pods” shared and honed simple, meaningful, personal stories that resonate with strangers enough to inspire them to vote.
The workshop was a first step in transforming Philadelphia citizens into deep canvass volunteers who’ll engage with unlikely and unregistered voters in the run-up to the November election.
A 1-minute recap of the event
The full video of the workshop
Photos from the event
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