The Power of Deep Canvassing

This is a guest post by Glenda Russell, LGBTQ+ historian and member of Out Boulder County’s Advocacy and Public Policy Committee. You may contact Glenda with questions about deep canvassing at gmrussell5@hotmail.com.

We’ve embarked on an election year. It probably comes as no surprise that LGBTQ+ people — especially trans and nonbinary folks — are the targets of one major political party’s efforts to stir up their base and get out the vote. What may surprise you is that we have a powerful tool for winning elections. But like most effective tools, we need to learn how to use this one.

Deep canvassing was developed by the Leadership LAB at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Led by Dave Fleischer, the group talked with more than 5,000 voters in an effort to figure out why the queer and trans communities rarely won elections, and, more importantly, what would it take for that to change. 

It’s not just our opinion that deep canvassing is an effective tool for winning campaigns, especially when controversial issues are at stake. Think queer and trans rights, reproductive rights, and immigration. Science Magazine, one of the top-tier peer-reviewed academic journals in the world, published a study using gold-standard science to examine the effect deep canvassing has on reducing anti-trans prejudice. The results were spectacular. You can read a brief report on the study here. 

More deep canvassing studies in other preeminent journals followed. 

Now, Coloradans — LGBTQ+ and allies alike — can learn how to deep canvas during a Boulder-based training session led by Dave Fleischer. Not only will participants hear about deep canvassing principles, they’ll also have the opportunity to practice how it works and get feedback from Dave and fellow trainees. The process will build a supportive and effective team that will work through the year to establish a base of LGBTQ+ supportive voters and make sure they actually vote. 

Here are the details:

Introductory Virtual Meeting (optional)

Saturday, March 30 at 11 a.m.
-OR-
Monday, April 15, 6:30 p.m.

Talk with Dave Fleischer about deep canvassing, see recordings of actual voter contacts, learn more about the training, and get answers to any questions you have.

Story Workshop Training — Virtual (mandatory)

Wednesday, April 24, 5:30-7:15 p.m.

This is the first portion of the actual training where you’ll dig into the foundations of deep canvassing and meet other team members.

In-Person Trainings

Saturday, April 27, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., location TBA

• Take a deeper dive into deep canvassing

• Build a team 

• Practice deep canvassing with other team members

• Breakfast sandwiches and coffee available in the morning, and lunch at mid-day

Sunday, April 28, 9 a.m.-4:15 p.m., location TBA

• Meet/prepare

• Conduct actual deep canvassing in the field

• Return to meeting place to debrief

• Talk about next steps

• Breakfast sandwiches and coffee available in the morning, and lunch at mid-day

Click here to sign up for free deep canvassing training with Dave Fleischer.

FAQs

This is world-class training; how much does it cost?

Nothing; it’s free. This year’s election is so important and deep canvassing is so effective that we want to make it available to people at no cost. We only ask that you come prepared to learn and give it your best effort.

This sounds exciting but it also scares me. I’ve done canvassing before and I didn’t like it — is this similar?

Many of us have done some version of canvassing before — often where we knock on the door and hope nobody answers. We promise you this is not like any canvassing you have done before. It’s not about twisting arms and trying to wrestle someone into submission. It is about having an authentic conversation and finding a connecting point with a would-be voter. We’ll go out in pairs to contact voters, and we’ll get lots of support along the way. If you come to Dave’s virtual meeting on March 30, you’ll see recordings of conversations with voters so you’ll have a clear idea how different deep canvassing is.

What election will we work on?

Deep canvassing can work on elections with any focus. We want to be especially prepared to work on elections where the rights of trans people are at stake. There are groups working to place several anti-trans measures on Colorado’s ballot this November. We want to be ready in case these groups manage to get the measures on the ballot. Otherwise, we’ll work on getting LGBTQ+-friendly politicians elected to office. There is also the possibility that some or all of us might travel for a weekend to do deep canvassing in another state — maybe on trans ballot measures, or even the presidential campaign. 

What is the commitment?

We ask that you commit to coming for the full training — the virtual training on Wednesday, April 24, and all day on Saturday and Sunday, April 27 and 28 — and come prepared to learn and give it your best effort. After training, we ask that you stay involved for the remainder of this year. We’ll meet on a regular basis and continue to do deep canvassing, all in the context of a mutually supportive team.

I have some more questions. Is there anyone I can talk with?

Please contact Glenda Russell at gmrussell5@hotmail.com if you 1) have questions, 2) want the link for one of the introductory briefings, or 3) wish to sign up for the full training. Or, if you’re ready to sign up, click here.