lang: en
Summary
This collection provides how-to guides and resources regarding the skills and tactics needed to reach campaign goals during election time. It covers areas such as complying with electoral law, running field and media campaigns, using technology effectively, and wrapping up campaigns successfully. The resources are drawn from various contexts, including Australia, the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Background
The Commons Library has gathered perspectives on the role of elections as part of social change strategies, including case studies of past campaigns and guides to different tactics. This collection focuses on practical skills and tactics for campaigning during elections, whether to raise issues, apply pressure, or support or dislodge candidates.
What happened
The resource is a curated collection of guides and tools for election-related activism, compiled by Holly Hammond and Iain McIntyre and published in 2022 [source: commons-library]. It includes sections on complying with electoral law, such as a guide from the Human Rights Law Centre on Commonwealth electoral laws for not-for-profits [source: commons-library]. The collection covers field campaigning techniques like door-knocking, phone-banking, and deep canvassing, with examples from the US 2020 election and Michigan [source: commons-library]. It also addresses holding candidates accountable through bird-dogging and accountability sessions, and provides tips on election signs, events, and volunteer scaling, including the Sunrise Movement’s volunteer-led phone bank program that powered 6.2 million calls in 2020 [source: commons-library]. Digital campaigning resources include guides on social media, email, and digital storms, as well as tools for campaign evaluation and post-election recovery [source: commons-library].
Key people & organizations
- Holly Hammond
- Iain McIntyre
- Australian Electoral Commission
- Human Rights Law Centre
- Leading Change Network
- Blueprints for Change
- Changing the Conversation Together
- We the People Michigan
- Sunrise Movement
- Ruth McGowan
- Cathy McGowan
- Australian Conservation Foundation
- European Center for Digital Actions
- Defiance Digital
- Australian Greens Victoria
- Democracy Resource Hub
Tactics used
- boycotts-and-strikes
- nonviolent-direct-action
- civil-resistance
- coalition-building
- distributed-organizing
- dilemma-actions
- framing-and-narrative
- escalation
- affinity-groups
- citizen-lobbying
- petitions-and-e-campaigning
- public-narrative
The collection brings together a wide range of tactics—from door-knocking and phone-banking to digital storms and deep canvassing—to provide campaigners with a comprehensive toolkit for engaging during election periods. These tactics are presented as complementary, allowing campaigns to combine field organizing, media work, and digital tools to maximize impact. [source: commons-library]
Outcome
Verdict: unknown.
The outcome is unknown because the resource is a guide and collection of tools, not a specific campaign with a defined result. It aims to equip activists with skills and knowledge, but does not report on the success or failure of any particular intervention. [source: commons-library]
Lessons
- Combining field organizing with digital tools can amplify campaign reach and effectiveness.
- Deep canvassing—persuasive conversations that surface personal attitudes—can shift hearts, minds, and votes on divisive issues.
- Scaling up volunteer efforts through structured team models can enable massive outreach, as seen with the Sunrise Movement’s 6.2 million phone calls.
- Post-campaign debriefs and self-care are essential for learning and sustaining activist energy.
Sources
- commons-library —
[[commons-library]]
Disclaimer: Included as a teaching example of campaign craft, not as endorsement.
Sources & verification
commons-library— grounding: primary — license: link-only- Rewritten: 2026-06-25 via
worker_casestudies_v2.py