Canvassing via a mobile device in RunningMate
How can I canvass using RunningMate on a mobile device?
No apps or downloads required! Simply log in to RunningMate via a web browser on your mobile device and start talking to voters. RunningMate now has two modes by which to log contact with people - Search Individuals and Canvassing.
Canvassing
Pro and Pro+ RunningMate users are able to canvass from a List they have created. These lists can be created from either from a saved Universe or a Saved Filter. Using the list while Canvassing allows users to perform in-person outreach to a targeted audience.
How to Start Canvassing
First create a Saved Filter on the Home page OR create a Universe in Universe Builder. Then select Lists from the menu, and create a List from either an existing saved filter OR a Universe.
To canvass using RunningMate via a mobile device:
- Once on the canvassing page select from one of your Lists to canvass with
- Large lists sizes - over ~1000 - may cause performance issues, so at this time we encourage narrowing your list to 1000 or fewer targets.
- Note: During future update, this will be less of an issue
- Users are able to perform a text search of their lists, either by name or address
- Large lists sizes - over ~1000 - may cause performance issues, so at this time we encourage narrowing your list to 1000 or fewer targets.

- If no lists have been created, the user will be informed that they need to create a list to start canvassing.
- Once a user selects a list, the targets within the list will load in a list view. The targets will be sorted by street address
- In this list view there is also an indicator of total targets on the list and how many have been canvassed so users can gauge progress of their canvassing effort - e.g. 73/191 Voters Contacted
- 20 targets will display at a time, but can choose to view to other pages of the contact list
- Users can toggle between list and map view via the tabs at the top of the list
- Users are able to search by name or street address for a specific target in list and map view
- From the list view select a target to canvass. Once user selects a target they will see additional information about the target along with a “Start Conversation” and “Voter Unavailable” button.
- Users can also select a target via the map, which will display the target info once the map marker is tapped
- If user selects a map marker with more than one target user will be directed to a list of the targets that is associated with that marker and can select which one to canvass
- Information shown for a target includes:
- Registration Status
- Party Registration
- Party Lean
- Vote History
- Precinct
- Current Support Score
- If one exists, it will be shown but won’t be editable in the info panel. User must use the “Start Conversation” workflow to log a new support score.
- Current Voter Registration Intent
- If one exists, it will be shown but won’t be editable in the info panel. User must use the “Start Conversation” workflow to log a new registration intent.
- Tags
- Notes
- Users can also select a target via the map, which will display the target info once the map marker is tapped
- If the target is available, select “Start Conversation” button to log either a support score or registration intent response, or both
- Only one response is required to log a successful contact attempt
- Registration intent question only displays if:
- Target is unregistered and the account is a Pro+ account (meaning they have access to unregistered data in RunningMate)
- User must click “Submit Survey” in order to save their input
- Users can edit the responses if needed. The “Start Conversation” button will change to “Edit Conversation” once a response has been logged.
- If the target is not available, select the “Voter Unavailable” button to log a non-contact result. Available options are as follows:
- Not Home
- A contact attempt will be marked as being made, but not as completed. This target will be marked as still available to be canvassed.
- Refused
- Canvassing status for this target will be considered complete
- Moved
- Canvassing status for this target will be considered complete
- This is also considered a terminal non-contact code/status. In the near future, targets with this status will not show up in future lists in the context of canvassing. The exclusion will be applied at the workspace level.
- Deceased
- Canvassing status for this target will be considered complete
- This is also considered a terminal non-contact code/status. In the near future, targets with this status will not show up in future lists in the context of canvassing. The exclusion will be applied at the workspace level.
- Gated
- Canvassing status for this target will be considered complete
- Not Home
- To move onto the next target, click the “Back” link located near the top to return to the previous screen and select a new target to canvass

Note: Canvassing is also accessible on larger screens or desktop, which will function similarly to mobile except that the list and map view is presented side by side on the screen vs in tab view in mobile.
Canvassing Status
There are three canvassing statuses that a target can have. Status is indicated on the list view.
- Not Canvassed - Green
- Target is available to be canvassed
- Canvassed and successful contact attempt was logged or target marked with a terminal non-contact code - Grey
- Target is marked as complete and does not need to be canvassed
- Canvassed but successful contact attempt was not made - Yellow orange
- Target was marked as not home and still available to be canvassed
Canvassing statuses are also indicated on the map via the same color codes above, but indicate status based on “household” or targets grouped by geolocation.
- Green marker – No contact attempts made at the household yet, and they are available to be canvassed.
- Yellow marker – At least one attempt made, but some residents are still unresolved (e.g., "not home" or no response code recorded for at least one target). Canvassing effort is not yet considered complete.
- Gray marker – All residents in the household are resolved through terminal codes or survey completion and canvassing effort is considered complete.
The canvassing statuses and color codes are meant to give the user a quick indicator of what targets are available to be canvassed or still need to be canvassed, and what is complete.
Editions and Roles and Permissions
Editions that have full access to canvassing:
- Pro
- Pro+
Lite accounts will be able to access the canvassing feature, select a list to canvass, and then will be blocked to prevent exposing personally identifiable information. They will be met with copy to upgrade and will be able to see a preview image of Canvassing. In the future we would like to do a short video showcasing the canvassing feature to give Lite accounts more insight on how the feature works.
Roles that can access and use Canvassing:
- Owner
- Admin
- Data Manager
- Volunteer
Roles with view only access:
- Data Viewer
Search Individuals
After clicking Outreach, users can select Search - doing so allows users to search a name or address, then view that person's registration status, party registration (where applicable), partisanship lean, etc. They can then update the person’s survey responses as well as to add data tags and free-form notes.
What Features Are Available currently in the Mobile Search and Edit View?
A user accessing RunningMate via their mobile device will be directed to the Search Individuals feature. Users will not be able to access any other RunningMate features, like the home page maps, list creation, or Goal Tracker, outside of Search and Edit on mobile at this time.
What are the Mobile Version Limits?
- State view users will not be able to drill down into specific geographies when logged in via a mobile device. When performing a search, it will search against the entire state.
Please note that workspace admins and data managers will need to set up tags for their users to access while canvassing. Tags can be added by clicking into the Data Management screen, then selecting Tags, or by importing a csv containing Tags.