Political calls from REAL people.

[Vincent]

So how effective is phonebanking for a campaign? Have you ever personally done it? Have you ever reconsidered your support for a candidate/proposition becaus of one?

Note: This is not about "robocalls", but calls from actual people.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

So how effective is phonebanking for a campaign?

Not very

[Ban my account ffs!]

I've done a LOT of phone banking this election cycle... and it is mostly effective in trying to get a picture of the election.

I have talked to a few people that have asked me about certain issues.. and of course I tried to explain them in as non-partisan way as possible (though being a partisan organization.. the Minnesota DFL)...

Most people I've called have been over 65, and they are very wary about giving out their opinions over the phone, but many will just say it.. it also depends on how you go about it...  I've found that if you call and say something like

"Hi, My name is (name), and I'm calling from the Minnesota DFL party.  We're justing calling around to gather some information for the upcoming election, and we were wondering if you could tell us who you'd be supporting in (race)?"

I found that like 80% of those I talked to would answer this as compared to something more direct like "I'm calling from the Minnesota DFL, and we were wondering if you could tell us who you're supporting in the (race) this fall?" 

That's when a lot of people hang up or say no.

I've had a lot of people mention that they hate negative campaigning.  I've had people say that they hated Hillary Clinton and Democrats... but they were oddly voting for a few of them... I've talked to people that were supporting Mike Hatch and Amy Klobuchar.. but also Michele Bachmann.... why?  I don't know.  The person who can vote for all democrats, but for Michele Bachmann is truly something that needs study...

But anyway, yeah.  I hate doing it.. but I just figure that maybe it'll make a difference in the end..

Door knocking is a lot more effective.  That'll be huge this weekend.

[Vincent]

So how effective is phonebanking for a campaign?

Not very

Are they common in the U.K. ?

[Beet]

I've done a LOT of phone banking this election cycle... and it is mostly effective in trying to get a picture of the election.

I have talked to a few people that have asked me about certain issues.. and of course I tried to explain them in as non-partisan way as possible (though being a partisan organization.. the Minnesota DFL)...

Most people I've called have been over 65, and they are very wary about giving out their opinions over the phone, but many will just say it.. it also depends on how you go about it...  I've found that if you call and say something like

"Hi, My name is (name), and I'm calling from the Minnesota DFL party.  We're justing calling around to gather some information for the upcoming election, and we were wondering if you could tell us who you'd be supporting in (race)?"

I found that like 80% of those I talked to would answer this as compared to something more direct like "I'm calling from the Minnesota DFL, and we were wondering if you could tell us who you're supporting in the (race) this fall?" 

That's when a lot of people hang up or say no.

I've had a lot of people mention that they hate negative campaigning.  I've had people say that they hated Hillary Clinton and Democrats... but they were oddly voting for a few of them... I've talked to people that were supporting Mike Hatch and Amy Klobuchar.. but also Michele Bachmann.... why?  I don't know.  The person who can vote for all democrats, but for Michele Bachmann is truly something that needs study...

But anyway, yeah.  I hate doing it.. but I just figure that maybe it'll make a difference in the end..

Door knocking is a lot more effective.  That'll be huge this weekend.

I tried my hand at phone banking. Excluding bad numbers, people not there, people who hang up, etc., I reached about one in ten people (ok maybe not THAT bad), and usually that is so rare I forget what I'm supposed to say and just end up thanking them profusely. Seriously though... you have to go in with diminished expectations. It really is like the lottery.

[Dr. Cynic]

I would say the only time phone polling has ever been effective is in local races, with the exception of Lee Atwater's "Push Polling".

Push polling is very simple. GWB used it effectively against John McCain in the Republican primaries in South Carolina, and a poll would go something like this:

OPERATOR: Hello. As a Republican voter, would you be more or less inclined to vote for John McCain if you found out that he supported abortion, and that his wife had once had one?

VOTER: Well, I'd be less, I guess.

Now, they didn't all go like that, but that was the general jest of it. The poll really doesn't come out and say that McCain supports abortion, which he doesn't, but it plants the seeds of doubt on a less informed and more gullible voter. That voter would then not vote for McCain, because subconciously, he's been conditioned to believe that McCain was for abortion....

Push polling is one of the best ways to actually brainwash voters, and both parties have used it, although it's been most effective and more frequently used by the Republicans.

[Keystone Phil]

I "phone-banked" for Congressman Fitzpatrick yesterday and this evening. It's fairly effective but you get a good deal of hang ups no matter who you call for. People don't like to be bothered.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I've been doing this every weekend for quite awhile. I probably have only influenced about one in every 40 calls I've done, but that's the way elections are won, every vote counts. Plus the primary purpose is more to gather info on where the candidates are standing now and get a list of supporters for GOTV.

I've talked to people that were supporting Mike Hatch and Amy Klobuchar.. but also Michele Bachmann.... why?  I don't know.  The person who can vote for all democrats, but for Michele Bachmann is truly something that needs study...

That's just...bizarre. As weird as those Bush/Boxer voters in CA.

[Smash255]

I have phone banked numerous times for the Mejias campaign (went door to door canvassing yesterday).  As stated above, their are quite a few that don't pick up, some hangups, a few wrong numbers.  It can be effective, I have had a few who were undecided who then said they were backing Mejias, I have had a few that were leanining towards King that becameundecided and some King leaners that became Mejias backers. 

The main purposes of phone banking is to help get the word out about the candidate 9especially for a challenger) and as BTRD pointed out to gather information for the OTV effort.  Those who are strong backers of the opponent your not going to contact for the GOTV effort.  Those who are undecided or just lean either way your going to try and convert to your candidate or become more solidly behind your canddiate  and those who back your candidate your going to target in the GOTV effort.

[John Dibble]

It's probably more effective than robocalling people - a lot of people I know really hate robocalls.