--- description: Sanders volunteers have developed a smartphone app that allows canvassers to collect voter data without any help from campaign staff. title: Bernie Sanders Volunteers Develop Canvassing App image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta02549e1570b0434/698877ba8e0601b9c1463fd9/bernie-sanders1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Bernie Sanders](/tag/bernie-sanders/) ## Bernie Sanders Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Bernie Sanders Volunteers Develop Canvassing App by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 6, 2016 3:13 AM CUT  Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) outlines his plan to reform the U.S. financial sector on January 5, 2016 in New York City. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) outlines his plan to reform the U.S. financial sector on January 5, 2016 in New York City.Andrew Burton—2016 Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 6, 2016 3:13 AM CUT Bernie Sanders’ volunteers are often one step ahead of the campaign. As the insurgent’s organization creakily geared up for action in Iowa and New Hampshire last year, thousands of volunteers already had set their sights on winning states like Tennessee and Massachusetts. And they developed complex chains of conference calls and outreach groups before the campaign could set up offices for phone banks in Minnesota and Alabama. Now Sanders volunteers have developed a [smartphone app](https://fieldthebern.com/ "undefined") that allows canvassers to collect voter data door-to-door without any help from campaign staff. The app, called [Field the Bern](https://fieldthebern.com/ "undefined"), allows Sanders enthusiasts unaffiliated with the campaign to collect key voter data on their iPhones — effectively stand-ins for organizers with the more traditional clipboards. It’s unclear how much the app will help turn out voters, but it is a reflection of Sanders supporters’ impatience for the political revolution. “Our generation is not going to be handed another FDR,” said Josh Smith, one of the lead developers on the app. “We’re not going to just be given the large-scale infrastructure change we need. We have to build it ourselves.” **Read More:** [_Why Bernie Sanders’ Tax Pledge Matters_](http://time.com/4156619/bernie-sanders-middle-class-tax-pledge/ "undefined") The campaign has often lagged behind its own activists’ enthusiasm, struggling to catch up and build an infrastructure in states where volunteers are active. There are now 400,000 active volunteers working for the Sanders campaign, and many report to other volunteers rather than to staffers. The app is the latest attempt to bridge volunteer efforts with the campaign’s turn-out-the-vote initiatives. Using their smartphones, volunteers can collect detailed data from voters, including names, addresses, party registration, their preference for Sanders, as well as emails and phone numbers. The campaign is developing software that will allow that data to be incorporated into its own database, complementing the campaign’s other on-the-ground efforts. It has a potential to increase the amount of data Sanders has access to, and if it is widely and effectively used, could help the campaign turn out voters in Super Tuesday and later states. The day after its release, 1,000 users were on the app. “We want to be able to take all the canvass results that they’re generating, review it as a campaign and import it into our field program,” Kenneth Pennington, digital director at the Sanders campaign, said of the app. **Read More:** [_Bernie Sanders Racks Up Key Support From Liberal Grassroots_](http://time.com/4153293/bernie-sanders-liberal-grassroots/ "undefined") Users get points for knocking on doors and connecting with voters. It will be a challenge for the campaign to effectively use the data, however, and many field organizers will probably end up relying on the tried-and-true, traditional methods of clipboard data collection. The volunteers that wrote the app’s code belong to groups including Coders for Sanders, Code Corps and FeelTheBern.org. The app is open source, meaning that any campaign with a coding team could create its own version of it and distribute to volunteers. But the app’s developers were mainly motivated to create the app because they wanted to spread Sanders’ message, not as part of any specific campaign strategy. It reflects the spontaneous and loose organization of Sanders’ campaign, where activists’ idealism has more to do with making a movement than winning. That’s a sentiment that comes from all the way at the top. “What this campaign is about is building a political movement which revitalizes American democracy, which brings millions of people together,” said Sanders on Tuesday at an event in New York. **Read Next:** [_Bernie Sanders Breaks Fundraising Record_](http://time.com/4157904/bernie-sanders-fundraising-donations-record/ "undefined") ### See Bernie Sanders' Career in Photographs  Bernie Sanders (R), member of the steering committee, stands next to George Beadle, University of Chicago president, who is speaking at a Committee On Racial Equality meeting on housing sit-ins. 1962. Special Collections Research Center/University of Chicago Library  A photo taken on July 22, 2015 of Bernie Sanders and his son is seen in an old clip from an alternative newspaper called the Vermont Freeman in Burlington, VT. The Washington Post/Getty Images  Bernie Sanders in his office after winning his first election as the mayor of Burlington, Vt. on Sept. 15, 1981. Donna Light—AP  Bernie Sanders, right, greeted voters at a Burlington polling place on March 1, 1983 in Burlington, Vt. Donna Light—AP  Bernie Sanders and his campaign celebrating after his mayoral re-election circa 1983 in Burlington, Vt. Courtesy of Bernie Sanders Campaign  Bernie Sanders recording his singing in a studio Nov. 20, 1987 in Burlington, Vt. Toby Talbot—AP  Bernie Sanders and his wife Jane O'Meara in Washington circa 1991. Courtesy of Bernie Sanders Campaign  Bernie Sanders, James Jeffords and Patrick Leahy toast to the passing of the Northeast Dairy Compact on June 14, 2006 in Montpelier, Vt. Toby Talbot—AP  Bernie Sanders officially announces his candidacy for U.S. Senate on May 19, 2006, at the Unitarian Church in Burlington, Vt. Alden Pelett—AP  Bernie Sanders and the other members of the Vermont Congressional delegation at the annual lighting of U.S. Capitol Christmas on Dec. 5, 2007 in Washington. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid speaks during a rally in support of Social Security with Sen. Tom Harkin and Bernie Sanders on March 28, 2011 in Washington. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  Rep. Steve Cohen and Bernie Sanders attend a rally near the reflection pool, held by 350.org to protest the amount of money members of Congress receive from the fossil fuel industry on Jan. 24, 2012. Tom Williams—Getty Images  Bernie Sanders at the signing ceremony of Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act on Aug. 7, 2014 in Belvoir, Va. Alex Wong—Getty Images  Bernie Sanders waits to speak at a rally to advocate for an increase in pay to $15 USD per hour, as part of a "Fight for $15" labor effort on April 22, 2015 in Washington. Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images  Bernie Sanders shakes Colleen Green's hand as he leaves a town hall meeting on May 11, 2015\. in Charlottesville, Va. Jay Paul— Reuters  Bernie Sanders kisses his wife, Jane O'Meara, before officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park May 26, 2015 in Burlington, Vt. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Bernie Sanders delivers remarks at a town meeting at the South Church May 27, 2015 in Portsmouth, N.H. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Bernie Sanders speaks during a news conference to discuss legislation to restore pension guarantees for thousands of retired union workers on June 18, 2015 in Washington. Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images  Bernie Sanders kisses his wife Jane O'Meara during a campaign event on Aug. 10, 2015 in Los Angeles. Bloomberg/Getty Images  Bernie Sanders speaks to a primarily Latino audience during a campaign stop at the Muscatine Boxing Club on Sept. 4, 2015 in Muscatine, Iowa. Bloomberg/Getty Images  Bernie Sanders and Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University, listen to a prayer during a Liberty University Convocation on Sept. 14, 2015 in Lynchburg, Va. Bloomberg/Getty Images  Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, right, and his wife Jane O’Meara, wave to the crowd as he is announced onstage to speak to supporters during a campaign rally on Sept. 14, 2015 in Manassas, Va. Cliff Owen—AP  Bernie Sanders joins Cornell William Brooks in a march with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on Sept. 15, 2015 from Selma, Ala. to Washington. 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