Filter the universe before you cut
Turf comes out of the voter list your filters produce, so set the filters first. Narrow to a city, a set of precincts, or one target audience. A whole county or a statewide universe is too big to cut in one pass, and the turfs will not mean anything to a volunteer.
Decide what the walk is for before you cut. A persuasion walk and a turnout walk pull different voters. Mixing them in one turf makes the script harder to run at the door.
The list you are cutting is the county voter file your campaign obtained under California's voter registration information rules. Keep the use inside the purpose you stated on that request.
- Start with the district boundary
- Pick one purpose per walk
- Check the count before you cut
- In the final weeks, filter to voters who have not returned a ballot yet
Sources: California Secretary of State voter registration information file request
Set the crew size
Crew size is how many voters you want in each turf. Think of it as one walk list for one canvasser or one shift. In VoterFile the slider runs from 25 to 300 voters.
Pick the size a volunteer can actually finish in the time you have. A first-time volunteer on a Saturday morning does better with a short sheet. An experienced pair with two hours can take more. When in doubt, cut smaller. A finished short turf beats a half-done long one.
Choose what to keep together
Group turfs by precinct or by ZIP code. Grouping keeps each turf geographically tight, so nobody gets sent across town inside one assignment.
Precinct grouping is the usual choice for a local race. ZIP grouping is the fallback when the file has weak precinct data.
Cut the turf and read the balance
The cutter packs whole precincts, or whole ZIPs, up to your crew size. A precinct larger than the crew size is split on its own into numbered parts, so no single turf is oversized.
Each turf then shows its voter count and a balance bar against your target. Adjust the crew size and cut again until the spread fits your volunteer base.
- On target: within range of the crew size, a clean full walk list
- Under: smaller than the crew size, usually the last sheet of a precinct. Combine it with a neighbor or accept the short list
- Over: larger than the crew size. This only happens when a single precinct cannot be split further by the chosen grouping. Raise the crew size or switch grouping
The precinct rules
Three rules keep turfs walkable.
- Precincts stay whole whenever possible, so a canvasser is not handed half a street
- A precinct larger than the crew size becomes several turfs labelled as parts, for example 1/7 and 2/7, so the run still reads as one precinct broken into walkable sheets
- Records with no precinct on file are grouped together and labelled Unassigned precinct, so they can be handled or held separately
What to hand the volunteer
Once the turf is cut, each one becomes a walk packet. Print it or open it in mobile canvass mode. The packet board tracks who owns each packet and where it stands. Survey answers and notes go back on the voter record. If your team runs another tool at the door, export the CSV and keep going.
The walk list guide covers what belongs on the sheet itself. The chase list guide covers taking returned ballots off the list as the county's data comes in.
Ready to cut turf for a real race?
Pay the $299 BYO rate, bring the county voter file your campaign obtained, and cut walk turfs before the next volunteer shift.
Questions
How big should a turf be?
Small enough that one volunteer finishes it in one shift. The cutter allows 25 to 300 voters per turf. Most first-time volunteers do better with a short sheet.
Why keep precincts whole?
A whole precinct is one contiguous walk. Splitting it hands a volunteer half a street and makes the results harder to read later.
What happens to voters with no precinct on file?
They are grouped together and labelled Unassigned precinct so you can hold them or handle them separately.
Can I cut turf without cutting by precinct?
Yes. Group by ZIP when the file has weak precinct data. Precinct grouping is the usual choice for a local race.
Does VoterFile provide the voter file?
No. The campaign brings its own authorized county voter file. VoterFile does not sell voter data and does not file county requests. $299 is software.