The dos and don'ts of political canvassing

Canvassing. In urban areas, it is described as ‘knocking on doors’, in more rural areas it is ‘calling’. Whatever they might call it, and no matter how mighty they are, every politician who wants to get elected has to show up at a house and ask for their job.

Lots of people assume that being a TD is an easy gig. But when it comes to it, would you do it? Would you knock on a door and say ‘sorry to bother you, but would you vote for me’? If that sounds easy to you, you haven’t done it, so it’s worth understanding what’s involved.

Canvassing is an old custom of ours. The digital era has perhaps diminished its significance a little but it has certainly not died. It remains necessary even though it’s increasingly hard to get right. If you call, you can be a nuisance, if you don’t, that too will be remembered. If you call during the match, you are the worst in the world. If you ask the 19-year-old if their father or mother is at home, you will never be forgotten.

So, what are the good practices that guide the good candidate? How can such a candidate navigate all that might arise on the door, especially when the reception is stormy? I’ve heard some good lessons over the years and for this piece, I also consulted with an experienced politician – not from Mayo – to get a sense of the latest in best practice.

First off, it is important to be aware that many people may never have met the candidate and only encountered them through local press or social media – impressions formed through several platforms. Social media can mean the reputation precedes the candidate. If it’s negative, any politician must do a lot of work on the doors to turn that around. Good work on social media has the opposite effect. Either way, when voters meet the candidate at their own door, that reputation or bias can be confirmed or upended one way or another. It is a vital chance.

Whether the voter knows anything about the candidate or not, the canvasser should treat that interaction as a mini job interview where they might have only seconds to create a good impression. This time limit will be especially strict in this upcoming election where evenings will be dark and leaving the door open will not be energy efficient.

A candidate should spend that time, however brief, listening to the voter, even if the subject matter is challenging. A good candidate will listen and confirm in their reply what has been said. We all need to feel heard and the voter will be impressed that they were.

Asking for the Number 1 vote is important. You’d be surprised how many candidates don’t. Whether that is out of reticence or modesty or whatever it is, asking for the Number 1 is why candidates are there, so they should just do it. And in doing that, they should not assume that voters understand the vagaries of the PRSTV system. 

Sometimes voters genuinely think they are doing right by the candidate by giving them a high preference. That is why the wise candidate always asks for the Number 1. If it becomes clear that is not available, then the candidate can swoop for the Number 2, and if even that feels far away, then the ‘best you can do for me’ will suffice. 

Most candidates are elected as TDs by being in the top bunch after the first preferences are counted. But there have been many, many occasions when the number 4, 5, 6 and even lower preferences decided seats. It is a general rather than firm rule that if there are five seats on offer, the more times you can be in the top five on a ballot paper, the better chance you have.

Now, how best to win those votes and preferences? There are lots of factors in that, but using the words please and thank you on the canvas certainly won’t do any harm. There is a skill to how to present themselves when canvassing that any good candidate has mastered, which is to be deferential without being obsequious. 

If they are arrogant or high-handed or are only too keen to tell voters how great they are and all the good they have done (even if true), they are a turn-off. But try and plámás them, or act like the doormat they are standing on, and the chances are that voters will also conclude that this is not the candidate for them. It is important to realise that a voter giving a candidate a hard time might just be checking if this is someone who has what it takes to plead their case or fight for the community and is able to take it on the chin without getting rattled. Most people do not want a red rag or a wet rag for a TD.

Some voters will only love to keep a candidate talking. This may be because they are overflowing with support and positivity, but it may also mean that they fully intend to vote for the other candidate and this is a way of burning up the canvassing time. In either scenario, candidates need to politely learn how to move on. And when they have the vote, they need to learn to shut up and not lose it!

Politicians must give the sense that they are active and interested and a hard worker - so they need to be on top of the local issues and problems. In addressing those issues, they have to be professional, and that is so whether they are politically hard left or conservative right. In this informal age, wearing a tie is now seen as suspect, but a candidate would be wise to show up to canvass looking like someone who is in a job interview, for that is what it is.

These days, a candidate must navigate big gates and, increasingly, communication devices at the door that would not be out of place on the Starship Enterprise. Through these, they are viewed from within, no doubt feeling like they are under the microscope, and with the fear that the scalpel might be next. If not confronted by an angry voter, it might be an angry dog. And even if the dog is friendly, woe betide any candidate who is not kind to the dog. They must not – on any account – put their fingers through the letter box if a canine is within. The tips of those fingers will be needed on other occasions.

Politicians are increasingly aware though that sometimes mad dogs come in human form. This remains the great exception, but every politician – especially female ones – is conscious of this factor. Bringing an entourage with the candidate is therefore wise on any number of fronts.

Given that, and even though nobody likes giving a politician a break, can we for all for goodness sake try and put them at their ease when they call? Even if you do not intend in a million years to vote for them, they are entitled to ask and it’s good that they do.