Mayoral campaigns
A citywide ground game, organized neighborhood by neighborhood
A mayoral race puts the whole city in play at once, not one district. Activate turns your voter file into organized, walkable routes across every neighborhood, gets volunteers started from one QR code no matter where they're staging, and keeps every submitted door visible on one dashboard while several shifts run at the same time.
What makes this race different
A citywide race, not a district
Every neighborhood in the city is part of your walk universe at once, each with its own density and turnout history. Deciding where to send volunteers first is a bigger question than in a single district, and it's one you'll revisit all season.
Coverage is a neighborhood-by-neighborhood decision
With the whole city to organize, you can't canvass everywhere on day one. Import your file, cut routes by area, and release neighborhoods to volunteers as your plan calls for them — not all at once.
Multiple shifts run at the same time
A citywide campaign typically has several teams out at once from different staging locations, not one shift from one location. The mechanics stay the same for every team: organized turf, a QR join code, and a clear assignment on arrival.
Volunteers arrive with very different experience
A larger volunteer pool means first-time canvassers working alongside people who've done this for years. A simple join flow and a plainly organized route list help both get moving without a separate training track for each.
Your field plan, phase by phase
1Before the first shift
- Get your voter file — from your city, county, party, or a vendor. Our state-by-state voter data guide covers access rules and costs.
- Import the file and organize it into routes by neighborhood, sized however your teams need them.
- Share one QR code across every staging location. Volunteers scan, sign up, and land on their assignment — no app store, wherever they join from.
2During a shift
- Multiple teams canvass from different parts of the city at the same time, each working their own assigned routes.
- You review completion and responses on the live dashboard as shifts across the city report in.
- Release the next set of routes to a neighborhood as its current routes finish, so no team is left waiting.
3As the program grows
- Add staging locations and shifts as your volunteer pool grows — the same join code keeps working.
- Use completion by neighborhood to see where a second pass is needed and where it isn't.
- Model voter-data and texting costs before you commit to them — the calculator shows Credit costs up front.
In a field program
A campaign manager running a citywide mayoral race can publish one join code that works at every staging location, watch routes across several neighborhoods fill with volunteers on a Saturday morning, and review submitted results from each shift on the dashboard as the day goes on — without waiting for teams to physically report back.
What it costs
Core canvassing is free for your whole team: campaign creation, voter import, routes, QR invites, swipe canvassing, the live dashboard, and CSV export. No subscriptions, no per-seat fees. Optional costs are one-off Credits for voter data (fees vary by source) and texting — always shown before you confirm.
Activate organizes the work; it doesn't write your message, choose your voter universe, or promise an outcome. Which neighborhoods to prioritize and what to say at the door stay campaign decisions.
Keep reading
Ready to organize your citywide campaign?
Create your campaign, import your file, and put routes together across the whole city today — free core canvassing, no credit card.
Election rules, district sizes, and voter-data access vary by state. Verify specifics with your state or local election authority.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-01