RALEIGH, N.C. — America’s political divide is wide and growing as the 2024 election nears. The race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris has revealed drastically differing views on key issues such as immigration, abortion and foreign policy, with polls suggesting the race could come down to a photo finish.

In an effort to bridge the partisan divide, volunteers known as “deep canvassers” are going door-to-door in battleground states that could determine the election. Their goal: To have deep conversations about major issues  — especially politically divisive ones — to help voters tap into empathy and become more open-minded about views they don’t share.

“When we listen without judgment and share personal stories with vulnerability, we start to heal deep divisions,” says Sulma Arias, executive director of the nonprofit People’s Action Institute. “We unlock the power we have to transform our lives, our communities, and our society when we come together across differences.”

Arias’ organization seeks to advance social and economic justice in the United States. While it is not affiliated with a major party, its positions — such as support for abortion rights — are left-leaning, though they strive to work across the aisle to build support for legislation that directly impacts their communities, according to Arias. Its leaders launched the Deep Canvass Institute in 2021 to teach the practice of deep canvassing nationwide, partnering with local member organizations and training volunteers to have deep, personal conversations with people they’ve never met.

What is deep canvassing?

Canvassing is the age-old practice in which campaigns survey voters to gather information and share their platforms directly with potential supporters. Deep canvassing is less about talking to voters and more about listening to them. It’s an interview between volunteers and voters from the same community, characterized by hours-long, empathetic conversations about political topics and personal stories in an attempt to understand their political beliefs and persuade them to vote in their best interest. 

“[Deep canvassers] are people who care about their community, they care about what happens when they see our politicians not taking care of us, and they have an interest in making things better,” says Bonnie Dobson, deep canvassing manager for Down Home North Carolina, a member organization under the umbrella of People’s Action Institute. “You’ll be really surprised to know that most people will talk to you if you give them the chance,” Dobson adds.

Dobson is one of tens of thousands of volunteers in key battleground states who are engaging in deep canvassing, aiming to help voters learn about and consider human-rights-related issues at stake this election such as access to abortion, climate change, and police-community relations. 

Members of the LGBTQIA+ community pioneered deep canvassing in 2021 when they took the time to talk to people who voted against a same-sex marriage ballot measure in California, hoping to better understand their opposition. In recent years, their methods have been adopted for a wide array of political issues both locally and federally. 

Deep canvassers use a scripted system that combines the art of storytelling and active listening to engage neighbors in conversations. After an introductory question, canvassers use a one-to-ten scale to ascertain whether their subject is going to vote for one candidate or another on their state’s ballot. Canvassers will then engage in a conversation about the voters’ life experiences and political beliefs, and close by asking the scale questions once more. 

Any movement on the scale at the end of their conversation, known as the “persuasion rate,” indicates whether a conversation may lead to a change in personal opinion or voting.

Does deep canvassing work?

Studies suggest these carefully curated conversations can change people’s minds. People’s Action Institute believes that these active-listening sessions can be powerful enough to sway local and federal elections. 

“These conversations made a huge difference [in 2020] in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, all of which went to Trump in 2016, creating his margin of victory,” Arias says, citing a case study suggesting deep canvassing was responsible for an 8-percentage point increase in support for undocumented immigrants having access to social safety nets. “With our help and deep canvassing, they swung to Biden in 2020,” Arias adds.

In 2022, Arias said the group doubled its reach, having deep canvassing conversations with nearly 500,000 voters and “persuading tens of thousands of them to vote with us.” 

What’s at stake

Research shows that trust in elected officials is at an all-time low, with many Americans feeling burned out, apathetic or disillusioned about politics. However, deep canvassers are encouraging the American public to vote as if their lives depend on it. 

“We help people realize there’s a lot at stake in this election, whether they realize it or not,” says King, Down Home North Carolina’s deputy manager. “Everybody has something that drives them forward and we remind folks what their personal stake is and their why.”

People’s Action works with their state-level affiliate organizations to identify the issues most relevant to their communities, then develop a deep canvass methodology which helps tie these concerns to national issues. For example, People’s Action Institute has a deep canvassing member group in Michigan — Michigan United — that engages voters in conversations and community events that focus on climate action. Down Home North Carolina is prioritizing conversations about affordable housing, healthcare and access to abortion. Other chapters of the organization focus on issues such as immigration reform, public safety and education. 

Deep canvassing is about giving everyone in the community a chance to be heard and understood regardless of political party or personal views. By making an effort to understand where others are coming from, leaders with People’s Action Initiative said, deep canvassing brings people together where divisions seem impossible to overcome. 

“I was definitely a skeptic. But taking the steps and doing what I’ve learned to do in these conversations helped me get the results to see that it is real,” King said. “I do have faith we can move forward. I didn’t before, but with hard work, I know we can shift the political environment.”