Door-to-Door Canvassing
Canvass Triggers: Automatic Text Follow-Ups After the Door
Canvass triggers automatically send a text message to a voter when a canvasser records a result at their door. Thank a new supporter seconds after the conversation, follow up with voters who weren't home, or confirm a yard-sign request — all without anyone lifting a phone.
Triggers are optional. You can create a canvass without any and add them later by editing the canvass.
What Can Start a Trigger
A trigger fires when a canvasser records one of these outcomes in the field:
Household canvassed — someone answered and the conversation happened
Not home — nobody answered the door
Inaccessible — the home couldn't be reached (gated, no access, etc.)
Information left — the canvasser left literature at the door (available when your canvass includes the Distribute information purpose). This only fires when the canvasser actually marks information as left.
Supporter, Undecided, or Opposed — the voter's support level was recorded (available when your canvass includes the Determine support purpose)
Tag applied — a specific tag was added to a voter; each tag you enable for the canvass gets its own trigger
Yard sign requested — the voter asked for a yard sign
Each outcome can have its own trigger with its own message and timing. The action for every trigger is currently an SMS text message.
Setting Up a Trigger
While creating a canvass, you'll reach the Triggers step (or open an existing canvass and edit it).
Find the outcome you want to respond to and click Add Action.
Choose when the message should send and who should receive it (see below).
Compose your message. You can attach an image or short video (up to 750 KB) to send as an MMS, and you can send yourself a test message before saving.
Confirm the message to activate the trigger.
Personalizing the Message
Include VOTER_FIRST_NAME or VOTER_FULL_NAME anywhere in your message and it will be replaced with the recipient's name. For example:
"Hi VOTER_FIRST_NAME, thanks for chatting with our team today! Reply STOP to opt out."
Messages must include opt-out language (such as "Reply STOP to opt out") and can be up to 1,590 characters. Emoji and special characters are supported but can increase the message cost — the editor shows the cost as you type.
Timing: Immediately or Delayed
Immediately — the text goes out right after the canvasser records the outcome
After a delay — wait a set number of minutes, hours, days, or weeks before sending (for example, a reminder two weeks before Election Day)
All trigger texts respect quiet hours: messages only send between 8am and 8pm in the voter's local time. A trigger that would land outside that window is automatically held until the next morning.
Who Receives the Text
Some outcomes (like support level or a tag) belong to a specific voter — those triggers text that voter. Outcomes recorded for the whole household (like "not home") let you choose who to reach:
Everyone at the household — each resident with a cell phone on file gets the message
Oldest voter only — one message to the oldest household member with a phone
Only voters who match your group — residents are texted only if they fit the criteria of the group you're canvassing
A few built-in protections apply no matter what you choose:
If several household members share one phone number, that number gets a single text (addressed to the oldest of them)
Each trigger sends at most one text per recipient per 24 hours, even if the same outcome is recorded again
Voters who have opted out of your texts are never messaged
Voters without a cell phone on file are skipped
Requirements
Your organization needs an approved SMS registration — the trigger setup screen will warn you if yours isn't approved yet
Each text uses account credits at your normal SMS/MMS rate; sends are skipped if your account runs out of credits
Monitoring Your Triggers
Open a canvass and go to its Triggers section to see how your automations are performing across three tabs:
Overview — each trigger with its message preview, pending/sent/failed counts, total SMS cost, and an on/off toggle
Execution History — every individual send with the voter's name, status, and (for failures) the reason. A "Recipient is unsubscribed" reason means the voter opted out and the message was intentionally not sent.
Analytics — success rate, total spend, and activity over the last 24 hours
Pausing vs. Deleting
Pause a trigger with its toggle at any time — the configuration is kept and you can turn it back on later. Paused triggers never send.
Delete is only available for triggers that have never sent a message. Once a trigger has send history, pause it instead — this preserves your records and spend history.
Good to Know
Triggers only apply to outcomes recorded after the trigger is active — they never text voters retroactively for doors knocked earlier
A new trigger added to an existing canvass starts working right away for new door results
Delayed messages already scheduled will still send even if the canvasser goes offline — the schedule lives on our servers, not the canvasser's phone
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