• The post you are reporting:
   
  Correction folks, here is the definative answer to the canvassing point as someone who has done it for 30 odd years and ran elections.
  
  The objective is to find out who is likely to vote for you - there is no other reason, it is not to convert or talk to the converted. A good canvasser will not assume the whole household votes the same way and would want ideally to speak to each individual though not always possible.
  
  Political parties rely on volunteers in this and do not have the manpower to canvas as thoroughly as they would want during the 'hot' election period so a lot of people do not get a visit.
  
  When I stood for the old Barton Ward I always set out to get a 100% individual canvass with, usually, just 3 people to canvass around 3000 voters, in the 'hot' election period. It was a massive challenge and a huge commitment of time and effort. I had two weeks off to do it and would start at 9am finishing around 8pm 6 days a week with barely a break, canvassing prior to that in evenings after work and weekends. Never did it on Sundays. With all that effort and sometimes up to 4 'call backs' on 'outs' at different times of day I never managed to get more than about 90% individual canvas. Few people are capable of that kind of effort and I certainly could not do anything like that now.
  
  In canvassing you are damned if you do and damned if you dont. Some people regard it as an intrusion and even object to a leaflet being delivered while other get angry or upset if no-one calls.
  
  I hope that everyone here on the forum will be understanding and tolerant towards the volunteers of all parties who call on them

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