VA Apartment Canvassing Tips

Bernie’s supporters (and potential supporters) tend to be younger, lower income, and more diverse. In Northern VA, these kind of people tend to live in apartment buildings rather than single family homes. Last weekend, apartment buildings were not included on any door lists. So it is critical we get them this weekend!

Canvassing apartment buildings, even locked buildings, is legal in Virginia:
1. The Arlington Democratic Party encourages its canvassers to do so
2. I have canvassed dozens of locked buildings in NOVA, and have been kicked out of several of them by building staff. They are almost always very polite and just ask you to leave.

So how do I get in?
1. Take off all your canvassing gear (campaign hat, buttons, etc)
2. Scope out the main entrance. If there is no front desk/door person, I will just hang out next to the entrance with my phone. When someone enters or exits, just walk in. This might take 5 minutes or so depending on how lucky you are.
3. It is a good idea to always do the first/ground floor last. There is a much higher chance of running into a building employee because that is where the offices usually are. I usually start from the top floor and go down.
4. Put your canvassing gear back on and go to it!

If there is a front desk/door person, it gets a little trickier. I like to hang out on the sidewalk out of sight of the front desk and find someone that looks like they are going in and just follow them. I will put headphones in and/or pretend to be talking on the phone and walk confidently past the the desk and directly to the elevators or stairwell.

If a building employee asks you what you are doing, just politely tell them you are doing political canvassing. They will probably tell you that the building doesn't allow that. At that point, just leave the building and don't try to canvass it again.