Abstract:
A system for the real-time identification, contact, and canvassing of voters is provided. The system has a voter database and a user interface. The user interface displays information about voters from the voter database on a map in the user interface. Households containing registered voters are displayed as pins on the map, and the pin identifies the number of voters within the household and is color-coded to match the presumptive party of the voters within the household. The pins may be clicked to view an individual voter&#39;s information, and information about contacts with individual voters may be reported to the voter database in real time. The user may change any number of voter metrics, and the map will automatically refresh to show households containing voters matching such metrics. The user may create, save, and assign walk lists to other users directly from the map based upon the selected voter metrics and current map view. The walk lists may be used to target custom messages to different voters on the walk list depending on a specific set of voter metrics. Campaigns may employ workers armed with smartphones and cellular-enabled tablet computers to canvass voters using the walk lists, or campaigns may use the walk lists in more traditional ways by robocalling or sending mailers to voters on the walk lists. Other features, such as voter searches and user account administration, are also provided.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES 
       [0001]    None. 
       GOVERNMENTAL RIGHTS 
       [0002]    None. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Political campaigns often require campaign managers to make difficult decisions about how to best seek the support of voters for a candidate or on a ballot issue given restraints on time, campaign funds, and volunteer numbers. Traditionally, local, state, and national political parties have maintained comprehensive lists about voters and where those voters lend their support. If a campaign wished to save money on reaching specific voters by narrowing a list of voters based upon certain factors, a campaign worker had to perform such action by manually editing lists or spreadsheets. Even today, campaign workers spend an inordinate amount of time identifying which voters they wish to target for certain messages. It is an object of the invention to permit a campaign worker to easily and quickly select voters for targeted messages in real time. 
         [0004]    Current campaign management software only permits campaign managers to analyze any particular political subdivision on a block level. That is, the campaign manager must make assumptions about individual voters because his or her information is limited to an entire precinct or other large block of voters. Currently, there is no way for a campaign to quickly and easily analyze information about individual voters or households residing in a geographic area of arbitrary size. It is a further object of the invention to permit campaign workers to make informed decisions by viewing information about individual voters and households on a geographic scope of arbitrary size. 
         [0005]    Traditional campaigns require inordinate amounts of manpower dedicated to the administrative tasks of identifying, conferring with, and reporting contacts with potential voters. Oftentimes, campaign workers contacting voters on a door-to-door basis will take notes about the responses received during canvassing. Then, upon return to campaign headquarters, the collected information is entered into a central database or otherwise collated with other voter-specific information. This approach to campaign management creates a significant lag time between collection of voter-specific information and the ability of a campaign worker to view and analyze canvassing results. It is another object of the invention to provide real-time reporting of contacts with voters. 
         [0006]    The invention meets the above objects by providing a system in which campaign participants may virtually canvass arbitrary portions of political subdivisions involved in a campaign according to specific voter and household metrics and may communicate with one another in real time about detailed, voter- and household-level information. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    A system for the real-time identification, contact, and canvassing of voters is provided. The system comprises a voter database linked to a user interface, which displays information about households containing registered voters as pins on a map. The pins further contain information about individual voters and serve as a gateway to reporting contact with individual voters in real time. While viewing the map, the user may change voter metrics as desired, and the map will refresh to show households containing only voters matching such metrics. The user may create walk lists directly from the map view, and in turn the walk lists may be used to target custom messages to different voters on the walk list depending on a specific subset of voter metrics. 
         [0008]    These and other advantages provided by the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description which, when viewed in light of the accompanying drawings, disclose the embodiments of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is an example of a user interface used by the invention, which is displaying the map option. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing the basic components of the voter database that hosts the information displayed by the user interface. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing the details of components of a users table within the voter database. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram showing the details of the components of a voter metrics table within the voter database. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is an example of a user interface showing the map option in which the specific voter metrics for an individual pin on the map are displayed. 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram showing the details of components of a household statistics table within the voter database. 
           [0015]      FIG. 6   a  is an example of a user interface showing voter metrics for weighting of Democrat and Republican primary or runoff election votes. 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is a block diagram showing the details of components of a contact reports table within the voter database. 
           [0017]      FIG. 7   a  is an example of a user interface showing how different types of contact with voters can be reported. 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is a block diagram showing the details of components of a walk lists table within the voter database. 
           [0019]      FIG. 8   a  is an example of a user interface in which a custom message is displayed for a user who is contacting a specific voter. 
           [0020]      FIG. 9  is an example of an embodiment of a user interface for the invention showing the search option in which the specific voter metrics for a search result are displayed. 
           [0021]      FIG. 10  is an example of an embodiment of a user interface for the invention showing the account option. 
       
    
    
     LISTING OF COMPONENTS 
       [0022]      100 —user 
         [0023]      101 —user interface 
         [0024]      103 —contact option 
         [0025]      105 —map option 
         [0026]      107 —search option 
         [0027]      109 —account option 
         [0028]      111 —logout option 
         [0029]      113 —voter metrics 
         [0030]      115 —pins 
         [0031]      117 —map 
         [0032]      119 —geolocation 
         [0033]      121 —party affiliation 
         [0034]      123 —household size 
         [0035]      125 —minlatlng 
         [0036]      127 —maxlatlng 
         [0037]      129 —bounds 
         [0038]      131 —household statistics 
         [0039]      133 —download walk list option 
         [0040]      135 —save walk list option 
         [0041]      137 —assign walk list option 
         [0042]      201 —voter database 
         [0043]      203 —contact reports table 
         [0044]      205 —walk lists table 
         [0045]      207 —voter metrics table 
         [0046]      209 —household statistics table 
         [0047]      211 —users table 
         [0048]      301 —owner 
         [0049]      303 —user creation date 
         [0050]      305 —user ID 
         [0051]      307 —client 
         [0052]      309 —name 
         [0053]      311 —password 
         [0054]      313 —access restrictions 
         [0055]      315 —campaign type 
         [0056]      317 —political subdivision 
         [0057]      319 —user type 
         [0058]      321 —permissions 
         [0059]      401 —voter ID 
         [0060]      403 —county 
         [0061]      405 —date of birth 
         [0062]      407 —date of registration 
         [0063]      409 —date of last vote 
         [0064]      411 —voter name 
         [0065]      413 —address 
         [0066]      415 —declared party 
         [0067]      417 —phone 
         [0068]      419 —election data 
         [0069]      421 —election eligibility 
         [0070]      423 —election type 
         [0071]      425 —election vote 
         [0072]      427 —votedD 
         [0073]      429 —votedR 
         [0074]      431 —election party 
         [0075]      433 —election date 
         [0076]      435 —latitude 
         [0077]      437 —longitude 
         [0078]      439 —confidence 
         [0079]      441 —timestamp 
         [0080]      501 —popup 
         [0081]      503 —navigation buttons 
         [0082]      505 —report contact button 
         [0083]      601 —count 
         [0084]      603 —average confidence 
         [0085]      605 —maximum confidence 
         [0086]      607 —minimum confidence 
         [0087]      609 —average age 
         [0088]      611 —maximum age 
         [0089]      613 —minimum age 
         [0090]      701 —contact type 
         [0091]      703 —contact date 
         [0092]      705 —contact type table 
         [0093]      801 —list date 
         [0094]      803 —list criteria 
         [0095]      805 —hard list 
         [0096]      807 —custom messages 
         [0097]      808 —custom message table 
         [0098]      809 —message categories 
         [0099]      811 —message content 
         [0100]      813 —campaign worker 
         [0101]      901 —search results 
         [0102]      903 —map view feature 
         [0103]      1001 —user summary 
         [0104]      1003 —campaign summary 
         [0105]      1005 —contact report functions 
         [0106]      1007 —walk list functions 
         [0107]      1009 —user functions 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0108]    The invention comprises a system and method of real-time voter identification, contact, and canvassing for use by an election campaign. The invention permits a campaign manager, politician, public official, or other interested person to virtually canvass arbitrary portions of a geographic area containing constituents, to identify and tag voters for further contact, and to track contacts with voters when such contacts are made. 
         [0109]    Turning now to  FIG. 1 , a user  100  (shown only in  FIG. 10 ) logs into a user interface  101 , preferably in a secure fashion. User interface  101  has at least five options: a contact option  103 , a map option  105 , a search option  107 , an account option  109 , and a logout option  111 .  FIG. 1  depicts an example of map option  105 . Map option  105  permits user  100  to select from a number of different voter metrics  113 . Zero or more pins  115  represent households in which voters reside who match voter metrics  113 , which are plotted on a map  117 .  FIG. 1  represents a map  117  plotting all voters, meaning that voter metrics  113  are as broad as possible. Pins  115  represent at least three types of information: geolocation  119 , party affiliation  121 , and household size  123 . Geolocation  119  is represented by the location of pin  115  on map  117 . Party affiliation  121  is represented by the color of pin  115 ; preferably, pin  115  is blue when party affiliation  121  of the represented household is Democrat, red when party affiliation  121  of the represented household is Republican, and green or yellow when party affiliation  121  of the represented household is unknown (due to the drawing rules of the USPTO, the color of pins  115  and thus the party affiliation  121  are not indicated in  FIG. 1 ). For households containing more than one voter, the color of pin  115  depends upon a comparison of the total number of votes within the household in each political party&#39;s respective primary elections. 
         [0110]    Map  117  represents a view of a particular geographic location, preferably a geographic location in which constituents reside who are important to user  101 . Even more preferably, when user  100  logs into user interface  101 , user interface  101  is capable of providing geolocation information along with login information such that map  117  is substantially centered on the current physical location of user  100 . Also, it is preferable that user interface  101  can continue to provide geolocation information such that map  117  can be re-centered on the physical location of user  100  as user  100  canvasses or otherwise moves around a geographic area. Map  117  is bounded by a minimum latitude and longitude, referred to as minlatlng  125 , and a maximum latitude and longitude, referred to as maxlatlng  127 . Together, minlatlng  125  and maxlatlng  127  are referred to as bounds  129 . Information about households in which voters reside is plotted on map  117  with pins  115 , and information about every pin  115  on map  117  is summarized as an average; these averages are shown as household statistics  131 . 
         [0111]    Voter metrics  113  and bounds  129  may be changed in real time by user  100 . When user  100  changes voter metrics  113 , map  117  automatically refreshes and redraws pins  115  matching the new voter metrics  113  selected by user  100 . When user  100  changes bounds  129 , such as by dragging map  117 , zooming map  117  in or out, double-clicking map  117 , or otherwise changing bounds  129  as permitted by user interface  101 , map  117  automatically refreshes and redraws pins  115  matching voter metrics  113  selected by user  100 . Household statistics  131  also automatically refresh and show household statistics  131  matching voter metrics  113  and bounds  129  selected by user  100 . By referring to pins  115  on map  117  and to household statistics  131 , user  100  may change voter metrics  113  and bounds  129  to suit the particular needs of user  100 . 
         [0112]    Once user  100  has set bounds  129  and voter metrics  113  as user  100  sees fit, user  100  may select one of several options, including but not limited to a download walk list option  133 , a save walk list option  135 , or an assign walk list option  137 . Download walk list option  133  permits user  100  to download a file containing names, addresses, party affiliations, voting history, or other pertinent or desired information about the voters identified by pins  115 . Save walk list option  135  permits user  100  to name and store a list of desired information about the voters identified by pins  115 . Assign walk list option  137  permits user  100  to name and store a list of desired information about the voters identified by pins  115 , and to assign such list to another user  100  for completion of a desired assignment. 
         [0113]    One having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that voter metrics  113  depicted in  FIG. 1  are not an exclusive or exhaustive list. As shown in  FIG. 1 , voter metrics  113  include selections indicating whether a voter is Democrat, Republican, or of unknown party affiliation; the voter&#39;s voting history percentage in a given type of election; the voter&#39;s household size (which requires that other voters in the household likewise match all other voter metrics  113 ); or the voter&#39;s age, political subdivision, income level, or date of last vote. Voter metrics  113  may also include additional information relevant to a campaign&#39;s interests, including but not limited to past campaign or political contributions; past political or campaign support; past political or campaign participation; personal relationships between voters, candidates, and/or campaign workers, including social networking relationships; responses to political polls; and countless other categories of campaign-relevent information. 
         [0114]      FIG. 1  contains an example of various types of household statistics  131 . For instance, in  FIG. 1 , number of houses  139  indicates that there are 211 pins  115 . Total voters  141  indicates that map  117  displays 473 total voters. Average age  143  indicates that the residents of the average household depicted on map  117  have an average age 43.3. Average house size  145  is equal to 2.2. House size variation  147  refers to the standard deviation of number of voters residing in each household for the set of pins  115 , which is 4.4. House size variation  147  permits user  100  to identify that map  117  depicts a residential neighborhood when the house size variation  147  is comparably low relative to average house size  145 , and a neighborhood containing apartments, colleges, or other high-density residences when house size variation  147  is comparably high relative to average house size  145 . Democrat houses  149  depicts the number of pins  115  representing households that tend to vote in Democratic primary and runoff elections. Republican houses  151  depicts the number of pins  115  representing households that tend to vote in Republican primary and runoff elections. Unknown houses  153  depicts the number of pins  115  representing households of unknown probable party affiliation. Map accuracy  155  represents an average of the confidence in the accuracy of the location of each pin  115 . This confidence metric is provided when geolocation  119  is obtained for each household from a geocoding service, which will be discussed in more detail later. 
         [0115]    Turning now to  FIG. 2 , user interface  101  is linked to a voter database  201 . Voter database  201  comprises a contact reports table  203 , a walk lists table  205 , a voter metrics table  207 , a household statistics table  209 , and a users table  211 . Voter database  201  interacts with user interface  101  primarily through users table  211 ; this limitation only permits user interface  101  to have access to data for which an individual user  100  is authorized. Also, such limitation permits queries of voter database  201  to be narrowed to information for which user  100  has access, thereby limiting the size of queries to voter database  201  and increasing the speed with which such queries can be processed and returned to user interface  101 . 
         [0116]    Turning now to  FIG. 3 , users table  211  contains various information, such as an owner  301  of user  100 , user creation date  303 , user ID  305 , client  307 , name  309 , password  311 , access restrictions  313 , and campaign type  315 . Name  309  and password  311  permit user  100  to log into user interface  101 . Client  307  indicates the particular campaign with which user  100  is associated. Access restrictions  313  dictate a political subdivision  317  involved for a particular user  100 , such as a county, state judicial district, state senate district, precinct, or the like. Limitations on political subdivision  217  have the added benefit of speeding up queries of voter database  201 . Access restrictions  313  also specify a user type  319  for user  100 , such as campaign manager, campaign worker, campaign volunteer, or the like; user type  319  specifies how a particular user  100  may interact with voter database  201 . Access restrictions  313  also include permissions  321 , which may be set for users  100  by other users  100 . Permissions  321  permit campaign workers to limit access to the voter database  201  for users  100  on a user-by-user basis as necessary. 
         [0117]    Turning now to  FIG. 4 , voter metrics table  207  contains various information, such as voter ID  401 , county  403 , date of birth  405 , date of registration  407 , date of last vote  409 , voter name  411 , address  413 , declared party  415 , phone  417 , election data  419  (further comprising election eligibility  421 , election type  423 , election vote  425  (further comprising votedD  427  and votedR  429 ), and election party  431 ), latitude  435 , longitude  437 , confidence  439 , and timestamp  441 . Date of birth  405  is used to calculate a voter&#39;s age. Date of registration  407  is used to calculate election eligibility  421 , which identifies whether a voter was eligible to vote in a particular election. Address  413  is used to obtain latitude  435 , longitude  437 , and confidence  439  using a geocoding service, which will be discussed later. Declared party  415  may be used to color pins  115  and other information such as voter name  411 , if such information has been provided by a voter. VotedD  427  and votedR  429  are calculated from election vote  425  (which indicates whether a voter voted in a particular election), election type  423  (which indicates whether a particular election was party-specific, such as a primary or runoff election), and election party  431 . Timestamp  441  indicates the date and time the voter&#39;s latitude  435 , longitude  437 , and confidence  439  were last updated using a geocoding service. 
         [0118]    In some circumstances, election data  419  contains bugs from the provider (provision of election data  419  will be discussed later). For instance, the inventor is aware of some circumstances where the provider of election data  419  overwrites date of registration  407  with the date when a voter re-registered to vote in a different political subdivision  317 . In this situation, a voter&#39;s election data  419  may indicate that the voter voted prior to date of registration  407 . In such a situation, date of registration  407  should be reset to election date  433  of the earliest election in which the voter voted. Otherwise, the household statistics  131  for a particular household or other information displayed in user interface  101  may be erroneous or nonsensical. 
         [0119]    Turning now to  FIG. 5 , a user  100  may interact with map  117 . One method of interacting with map  117  includes clicking on pin  115 , which prompts user interface  101  to display popup  501 . Popup  501  may contain various information, such as voter name  411 , address  413 , election data  419 , and confidence  439 . For households containing more than one voter, navigation buttons  503  permit user  100  to view the information for each voter residing in the household. Report contact button  505  permits user  100  to input information about a voter into the contact reports table  203 . 
         [0120]    Turning now to  FIG. 6 , the household statistics table  209  contains various information, such as count  601 , average confidence  603 , maximum confidence  605 , minimum confidence  607 , average age  609 , maximum age  611 , minimum age  613 , latitude  435 , longitude  437 , political subdivision  317 , votedD  427  (times voted in Democratic elections such as primaries and runoffs), and votedR  429  (times voted in Republican elections such as primaries and runoffs). The information contained within household statistics table  209  is used to populate map  117  with pins  115  in user interface  101  when user  100  selects various voter metrics  113 . That is, household statistics table  209  contains a collation of voter metrics  113  for all voters residing in each particular household, each of which is represented by pin  115  in user interface  101 . Each voter having identical latitude  435  and longitude  437  is considered to reside in the same household. The information contained within household statistics table  209  is very similar to the information contained within the voter metrics table  207 , but is provided on a household basis because pins  115  are displayed in user interface  101  on a household basis. A person having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that household statistics table  209  could be calculated on an as-needed basis from the information contained within voter metrics table  207 . However, the best mode known to the inventor is to utilize separate tables for the household statistics table  209  and voter metrics table  207  in order to maximize the speed with which pins  115  and household statistics  131  are displayed in user interface  101 . 
         [0121]    Every time map  117  is displayed or updated, user interface  101  queries voter database  201  with at least voter metrics  113 , minlatlng  125 , and maxlatlng  127 . Voter database  201  selects those pins matching voter metrics  113  within bounds  129  defined by minlatlng  125  and maxlatlng  127 , and returns sufficient information to user interface  101  for relevant pins  115  to be displayed on map  117 . 
         [0122]    A comparison of votedD  427  and votedR  429  from household statistics table  209  is used to determine the color of pins  115  on map  117 . Likewise, a comparison of votedD  427  and votedR  429  from voter metrics table  207  is used to determine the color of voter name  411  in popup  501  (as shown in  FIG. 5 ). 
         [0123]    In many political subdivisions across the country, voter metrics  113  concerning party affiliation are difficult to discern. Many voters do not specify a declared party  415 . In such situations, users  100  can glean information about a voter&#39;s party affiliation by looking to the type of political primaries in which a voter votes. In some regions, far more candidates run in primaries as Democrats, and the converse is true as well. In those regions, it may be advantageous to give greater weight to a voter&#39;s voluntary participation in party-specific elections concerning the party generally having fewer party-specific elections. For instance, in some parts of the South, most candidates run as Democrats because even conservative candidates self-identify themselves as “blue dog” Democrats. In such a situation, a person who voluntarily elects to vote in a Republican primary is quite likely to be Republican, even if that person also votes in more Democratic primaries than Republican ones. Thus, in these types of situations, it is advantageous to weight votes in Republican primaries more heavily than votes in Democratic primaries. User interface  101  may have a voter metric  113  directed toward weighting of party-specific votes, as depicted in  FIG. 6   a.    
         [0124]    Turning now to  FIG. 7 , contact reports table  203  contains information inputted by users  100  about contacts made with specific voters. Such information may include voter ID  401 , contact type  701 , contact date  703 , and user ID  305 . Voter ID  401  and user ID  305  are included within contact reports table  203  in order to associate contact with the voter with a specific campaign; in this manner, multiple contacts with the same voter by different campaigns may be tracked. Contact date  703  permits tracking of multiple contacts with the same voter during the same campaign. 
         [0125]    As illustrated in  FIG. 7   a , possible values for contact type  701  include, but are not limited to the following: signed petition, refused petition, not home, bad address, gave specific dollar amount, pledged specific dollar amount, willing to volunteer, willing to display sign, requested no further contact, other, come back later, or any number of campaign-related fields. Contact types  701  may be defined by a particular campaign and drawn from a separate contact type table  705  within voter database  201  (not shown in  FIG. 2 ), which has fields for client  307  (i.e., campaign) and a list of contact types  701 . Accordingly, each client  207  can specific the contact types  701  relevant to the campaign of client  307 . 
         [0126]    Turning now to  FIG. 8 , walk lists table  205  contains information about voters matching voter metrics  113  chosen by users  100  in specific geographic bounds  129  and/or political subdivisions  317 . Such information may include a list date  801  and a user ID  305 . 
         [0127]    Individual walk lists in walk lists table  205  may be stored in at least two forms. First, a walk list may be stored as a set of list criteria  803 ; that is, list criteria  803  are stored values corresponding to the voter metrics  113  chosen by user  100  when viewing user interface  101 . List criteria  803  may include selections indicating whether a voter is Democrat, Republican, or of unknown party affiliation; the voter&#39;s voting history percentage in a given type of election; the voter&#39;s household size (which requires that other voters in the household likewise match all other voter metrics  113 ); or the voter&#39;s age, political subdivision, income level, or date of last vote. Additionally, list criteria may include information relevant to a campaign&#39;s interests, including but not limited to past campaign or political contributions; past political or campaign support; past political or campaign participation; personal relationships between voters, candidates and/or campaign workers, including via social networking; responses to political polls; and countless other categories of campaign-relevant information. Storing an individual walk list as a set of list criteria  803  permits the walk list to automatically update each time the walk list is viewed by user  100 . 
         [0128]    Second, an individual walk list may be stored as a hard list  805 . Hard list  805  is a flat file containing minimum information sufficient to permit a campaign worker to use the list to canvass a given area or otherwise contact a given set of voters. For electronic use, hard list  805  may be stored as a list of voter IDs  401 . Traditionally, hard list  805  is a paper document containing a list of up to several thousand voter names  411 , addresses  413 , phone numbers  417 , declared party  415 , or other political affiliation identifiers of the voters appearing on the walk list. Walk lists may be used to send targeted mailouts, robocalls, or emails, or may be used to send campaign workers to a given area for door-to-door canvassing. 
         [0129]    Regardless of the method by which each walk list is stored, the invention permits use of walk lists by traditional means (i.e., paper) or by dynamic use of user interface  101  via personal computer, smartphone, tablet computer, or other electronic device capable of displaying and interacting with data, preferably a portable device that is capable of determining geolocation. When walk lists are used interactively by a campaign worker to canvass a geographic area, it may be preferable to use the entire display of user interface  101  to display map  117 . In such configuration, neither voter metrics  113  nor household statistics  131  are displayed, which has the additional benefit of speeding up the loading and display of map  117  because the household statistics  131  queries are not required. 
         [0130]    Walk lists table  205  also contains an option for custom messages  807 , which is drawn from a custom message table  808  containing campaign-defined messages. Custom message  807  permits a campaign to identify and label several message categories  809  which identify voters having distinct groupings of voter metrics  113 . Each message category  809  is associated with different message content  811  designed to best capture the attention and support of a voter matching the unique set of voter metrics  113  associated with message category  809 . For instance, if a voter is known to be a contributor to the National Rifle Association, a user  100  contacting such voter should refrain from conveying message content  811  relating to support for gun control. Custom messages  807  may be implemented with specific walk lists in several ways. For hard lists  805  printed in the traditional manner, each voter may be associated with message category  809  which requires user  100  contacting such voter to cross reference with a printed list that matches message categories  809  with message content  811 . For walk lists  205  utilized on newer technology such as smartphones or tablet computers, message content  811  can be automatically displayed when user  100  initiates contact with the voter, such as by activating report contact button  501  (as shown in  FIG. 8   a ). Campaign workers  813  may be assigned to walk lists so that users  100  can delegate appropriate tasks associated with each walk list. 
         [0131]    Turning now to  FIG. 9 , an example of search option  107  is depicted. User  100  may enter specific data into search fields corresponding to any voter metric  113  maintained in voter database  203 . In this example, user  100  has elected to search voter database  203  by the political subdivision voter metric  113 . Search results  901  list information specific to each voter, and the results of the search dictate the size of bounds  129 . That is, bounds  129  is calculated from the latitudes  435  and longitudes  437  of pins  115 , rather than being calculated from the size of map  117 . As seen by comparing  FIG. 1  with  FIG. 9 , search results  901  display only information meeting voter metrics  113  specified by user  100 . For search option  107 , popup  501  has an additional map view feature  903  which, when activated, opens map option  105  centered on the location identified by the pin  115  from which popup  501  was triggered. 
         [0132]    Turning now to  FIG. 10 , an example of account option  109  is depicted. Account option  109  displays user summary  1001  and campaign summary  1003  to provide a snapshot of the campaign&#39;s progress. Account option  109  further permits user  100  to make changes to various aspects of the account of such user  100 , including tasks regarding contact report functions  1005 , walk list functions  1007 , and user functions  1009 . The structure of the various components of voter database  203  has been discussed above, and it is within the capabilities of a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify or add data to a preexisting database; that is, the calculation and display of user summary  1001  and campaign summary  1003  is within the ordinary skill of the art given the detailed description above, as is the implementation of contact report functions  1005 , walk list functions  1007 , and user functions  1009 . 
         [0133]    According to the best mode known to the inventor, the invention is implemented using a general-purpose computer as a web host, which uses the FreeBSD operating system version 7.2. User interface  101  may be implemented using the Apache web server version 2.2.13, the MySQL database version 5.0.67, the PHP server-side scripting language version 5.2.12, and the Javascript client-side scripting language as implemented by most modern web browsers. Preferably, user interface  101  is securely implemented using SSL certificates. Such web hosting configuration can be obtained from Pair Networks, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa. A person having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that countless other combinations of client-server hardware and database/web hosting software may be used to implement the invention. 
         [0134]    Information used to populate voter metrics table  207 , including election data  419 , may be obtained from public repositories of registered voter information. Most state election officials, including the Secretary of State for the State of Arkansas, will provide a flat voter file on disc upon a properly-termed Freedom of Information request. Many local election officials can perform a similar service. Other possible sources of voter information include local, state, and national political parties. 
         [0135]    The web browser Firefox version 3.6 and above, or most mobile web browsers, provide the best viewing experience for user interface  101 . Such browsers offer geolocation services, which permit the browser to report its geolocation to Javascript, which in turn may use the geolocation information to dynamically update portions of user interface  101  using the AJAX (asynchronous Javascript) protocol. Many other web browsers for general-purpose computers cannot automatically ascertain the geolocation of the computer, and the effectiveness of user interface  101  is somewhat diminished for a canvasser by the lack of a geolocation feature in a browser. For a campaign manager, geolocation capability is not as important, since the campaign manager typically does not perform door-to-door contact him- or herself but instead assigns other campaign workers to such tasks. 
         [0136]    User interface  101  may utilize geocoding and mapping services provided by Google Maps API. Latitude  435 , longitude  437 , and confidence  439  may be obtained by submitting an address  413  to Google&#39;s geocoding service. Maps  117 , the placement of pins  115  on maps  117 , and the operation of popups  501  may be implemented using the Google Maps API. A person having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other providers of geolocation and mapping APIs may be used to implement the invention. 
         [0137]    While the inventor has described above what he believes to be the preferred embodiments of the invention, persons having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other and additional changes may be made in conformance with the spirit of the invention, and the inventor intends to claim all such changes as may fall within the scope of the invention.