Make Sure You Save this Block Walk Checklist!

Campaigns need doors knocked to help them get elected and they cannot do it without the help of staff and volunteers. If you are a campaign staff member who needs guidance in mobilizing volunteers, this blog post is for you.

1. Bottled Water

It is critical to put your health first. Bring bottled water to stay hydrated, going door to door. If you are going to a block walk kickoff, water should be supplied for campaign staff and volunteers.

2. Tennis Shoes

Wearing comfortable shoes is a must, whether you are walking for a couple of hours on a Saturday or walking seven days a week. Based on my own experience, some neighborhoods are hilly, sometimes sidewalks are cracked and uneven. I have had to walk up several steps to voters’ homes. Make sure your tennis shoes are not worn out. Investing in new tennis shoes is worth it.

3. Sunscreen

When I began block walking in 2020, one of the first essentials I forgot was sunscreen. Consequently, my shoulders were burnt, and it was painful! I haven’t forgotten sunscreen since then. Please protect your skin by applying sunscreen first before hitting the doors.

If you forget sunscreen and get sunburned, I recommend the product I used Sunburn Relief Cooling Gel from CVS Pharmacy. It will sooth, cool and moisturize your skin.

4. Bug Spray

Provide bug spray for your volunteers to use before hitting doors to prevent bug bites, especially in the summer months to repel mosquitos. You can find bug spray at Target, Walgreens, Home Depot, or Amazon.

5. Charged smartphone

You need to bring a charged smartphone to use your voter contact app, which does drain your battery. If you own an iPhone, please go to your settings and set your phone on “Low Battery”.

6. Voter Contact App

Voter Contact App provides walk books with the list of houses to survey. I have used three user-friendly voter contact apps. Advantage, i360 Walk, and Campaign Sidekick.

Before you head out to block walk, please find out which voter contact app your campaign will assign because you cannot download apps without WiFi. I drove to Coppell to block walk and I forgot to check which voter contact app we were using so I had to ask to connect to the WiFi of the host to download the Advantage app from the App Store.

7. Campaign Literature

You will give campaign literature to voters going door-to-door so they can learn about the candidates. You may need multiple supplies of campaign literature depending on if you are walking for more than one candidate at the same time. For example, if you are block walking for a Senatorial Candidate, you will need a stack of their campaign literature and if you are block walking for a U.S. Congressional candidate, you will need a stack of campaign literature for the U.S. Congressional candidate and so forth.

8. Jacket

Have a jacket ready in case the weather is windy and cold. If you get warm, you can wrap your jacket around you or put it away in your car. It is better to have a jacket and not need it and need it and not have it and get chilly.

9. Yard Signs

I recommend getting yard signs, which will be provided by either the candidate(s)’ campaign headquarters or the county party headquarters to block walk in case a voter is interested in having a yard sign. Yard signs are also ideal to have in group photos for block walking.

10. Walking Buddy

Block walking is safer with a walking buddy. You can get more doors knocked and finish your walk book quicker if you have a buddy to help. Block walking is more fun with a buddy. Again, based off my experience, you can exchange block walking tips and experiences, which makes time fly by faster.

11. Full tank of gasoline

If you are campaigning for several hours, I recommend filling your car with gas. You will need enough gas to drive to and from your home to the assigned neighborhood(s). The furthest neighborhood I had to drive to was twenty minutes. You will also get in and out of your car to drive from street to street, especially in a rural neighborhood where homes are spread out.

It is ideal to have a checklist regardless of if you are new to block walking or you haven’t block walked in several months and you are trying to remember how to prepare. Midterm elections are now over and 2024 is a year away. Keep this list in mind in case city council candidates need staff and volunteers to block walk within the next few weeks!