Door-to-Door Canvassing
Monitoring and Managing Canvass Activity in Vottiv
Vottiv makes it easy to monitor canvassing progress, review individual canvasser performance, and see the exact routes canvassers took in the field. Additionally, admins can update household statuses directly from the dashboard map, allowing for office-based management of canvass data. Notes entered by canvassers can also be reviewed centrally in the web portal.
When to Use This View
This view is useful if you want to:
Monitor canvassing progress in real time or after a shift
Update household statuses based on office inputs (calls, mail, etc.)
Review where canvassers walked and which doors were visited
Track productivity and efficiency
Recognize or reward top-performing canvassers
Audit canvassing coverage and outcomes
Search and review notes entered by canvassers in the field
Step 1: Open Door-to-Door Canvassing
From the left-hand navigation, click Door-to-Door Canvassing
Find the canvass you want to review
Click Details on that canvass
This opens the main canvass details page.
Step 2: Review Overall Canvass Progress
On the canvass details page, you can see high-level information about the canvass, including:
Active and completed routes
Overall completion progress
Route-level status and coverage
This view helps you understand how the canvass is progressing as a whole.
Route Finder: Locate Voters in Routes
You can search for any voter or address to quickly find which canvass route they belong to. This makes it easy to answer questions like "Which route is this voter on?" or "Who is assigned to canvass this address?" without scrolling through route lists.
How to use Route Finder:
Locate the Canvass Routes table on the details page
Click Find Route in the table header
Search by name, address, or both
If multiple voters match, select one from the list to see their route
Click the route button to open full route details, or click View on Map to highlight the route on the map
Editing Route Boundaries
You can edit boundaries for existing Optimized or Manual routes directly from the canvass details page. Changes are saved automatically to mobile apps.
Click the Edit Routes button on the canvass details page
Select any route to edit its boundary or name
Adjust the route as needed
Marking Homes from the Dashboard
Admins can mark household canvass statuses directly from the admin canvass details page without needing to use the mobile app. This is perfect for office-based admins who need to update statuses based on phone calls, returned mail, or other information received outside of door-to-door canvassing.
How to use it:
On any canvass details page, click the Fullscreen button on the map card (or click anywhere on the map)
Click on any address dot to select it
A side panel will appear showing household details and residents
Choose a status: Mark Complete, No One Answered, Declined, or Inaccessible/Unsafe
For specific situations, such as moved residents or deceased voters, you can select the specific person affected within the side panel.
Map Features:
View all voters at the address with name, age, party, and tags
See real-time updates as your team marks homes in the field
View team member locations and route boundaries
Reviewing Canvasser Notes
Notes entered by your canvassers in the field are saved and searchable in the Vottiv web portal. Here's how to find, filter, and review them.
Viewing All Notes
Log in to the Vottiv web portal.
In the left sidebar, navigate to Tags > Notes.
You'll see a table of every note entered across your organization, with these columns:
Voter / Household (who the note is about)
Note (the text content)
Canvasser (who wrote it)
Method (Canvass, Phone, or Lookup)
Date
Click any row to open the full note detail, including the voter's profile information.
Searching Notes
Use the search bar at the top of the Notes page to search across all note content. This uses full-text search, so you can type natural phrases like "wants yard sign" or "moved away" to find matching notes.
Filtering by Date
Use the date filter dropdown to narrow results by time period. Available presets include:
Today
Yesterday
Last 7 days
Last 30 days
This month
Last month
Custom date range
Filtering by Method
Notes are tagged with how they were collected:
Canvass — Entered in the field during a canvassing session
Phone — Entered during a phone banking session
Lookup — Entered manually from the web portal
Use the method filter to show only canvass notes.
Viewing Notes for a Specific Voter
You can also view notes on a per-voter basis:
Navigate to the voter's profile.
Scroll to the Notes section in their activity feed.
All notes tied to that voter — or their household — will appear here.
A Note About the Canvass Export
The "Export Data" button on a canvass page exports a Canvass Activity Log CSV. This export includes canvass status, canvasser info, location data, and survey metrics — but it does not currently include note text.
To review notes, use the Notes page in the portal as described above.
Tips
Notes can be tied to a specific voter or to an entire household. Both types appear on the Notes page and on the voter's profile.
Notes are paginated at 10 per page. Use the page controls to browse through larger result sets.
Only users with access to your organization can view notes.
Step 3: Open the Canvassers Section
Scroll to the bottom of the canvass details page and select Canvassers.
Here, you’ll see a list of all canvassers who worked on the canvass, along with:
Last active time
Participation status
This is the starting point for reviewing individual canvasser activity. Note: Canvassers flagged for potential GPS spoofing will automatically appear at the top of this list for quick review.
GPS Spoofing Detection
Vottiv automatically monitors canvasser activity for unusual patterns to ensure data integrity. If potential GPS spoofing is detected, the system highlights these canvassers so you can review their activity.
Warning Messages
Instead of technical scores, you will see clear, human-readable messages explaining why a canvasser was flagged. These appear in the spoofing summary panel and as tooltips when hovering over warning icons in the canvasser table:
"GPS activity detected while device appeared stationary"
"Unusual GPS patterns detected"
"Location data inconsistencies found"
Managing Flags
For each flagged canvasser, you can use the following action buttons:
View Details: Quickly navigate to the canvasser's profile to review their activity, route map, and timestamps.
Mark as False Positive: If you determine the flag is incorrect, use this button to clear it. You will see a confirmation dialog before the flag is removed.
Step 4: View Individual Canvasser Details
Click View Canvasser Details next to a canvasser to open their detailed activity view.
From this page, you can see a complete breakdown of that canvasser’s work, including:
Canvasser Performance Metrics
Total houses canvassed
Total people contacted
Total signatures collected
Total distance walked (miles)
Average distance between houses
Average doors per hour
These metrics are useful for tracking productivity, efficiency, and overall contribution.
Route Map and Walking Path
Scroll down to view a map of the canvasser’s route.
This map shows:
Where the canvasser walked
The order in which doors were visited
Which households were completed
This is especially helpful for validating coverage and understanding field movement.
Canvass Outcome Breakdown
You’ll also see a summary of canvassing results, including:
Number of completed conversations
Declines
No answers
Inaccessible or unsafe locations
This provides context beyond raw door counts.
Survey Responses and Interactions
If the canvass included surveys, you can view:
Responses collected by the canvasser
Breakdown of answers by question
You’ll also see a complete log of interactions, showing how each door was handled.
Timesheet and Activity Log
Each canvasser’s detail page includes a timesheet-style breakdown that shows:
When canvassing activity occurred
Duration of activity
Overall time spent canvassing
This can be useful for accountability, reporting, or volunteer recognition.
How Campaigns Use This Data
Campaigns commonly use canvasser route and activity data to:
Track progress during live canvasses
Identify high-performing volunteers or staff
Spot gaps in coverage
Improve route planning
Support stipends, reporting, or incentives
Review canvass quality after the fact
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