Every box on the form, from candidate support to issue priorities, read in one pass and stored as answers you can count.
Paper canvassing surveys, in your database without typing
Volunteers keep their clipboards. Back at headquarters, scan the returned surveys in a stack, and SimpleIndex reads the check marks and the handwritten answers and puts one row per survey into your database, ready for the voter file or CRM. The same works for any paper survey: advocacy groups, nonprofits, member and customer surveys.
01
What it reads off a survey
Your own form is mapped once, then every batch is read the same way.
Names, phone numbers, addresses and comments written in the boxes, read without anyone keying them in.
Unclear answers flagged
Anything the engine isn't sure of is shown to a person to confirm, so a misread phone number doesn't end up in the voter file.
Answers go into a database or a CSV file, ready to import into your voter file, CRM or spreadsheet, with the scanned survey kept beside each record.
Scan the stack on a desktop scanner, or at the office copier into a folder SimpleIndex watches.
Your own forms
Your survey is mapped once and reused for every batch. Send us a sample and we will set it up and show you the result.
02
The survey in SimpleIndex
The political poll demo job: the scanned survey in the middle, its check marks and handwritten answers read into fields on the right, and every survey in the batch as a row at the top.
03
Reading the handwriting, three ways
Neat block printing can be read on your own computer by FineReader in SimpleIndex Professional, or by a vision model running on your own hardware, with nothing leaving the building.
For hurried handwriting, a cloud model or AWS Textract reads best; only the page image is sent to read it. Whatever the engine, answers it isn't sure of come back to a person to confirm.
04
One row per survey
Each returned survey as one row, with every answer in its own column, ready to export as a CSV for the voter file or CRM.
05
When paper fits better than an app
Canvassing apps such as MiniVAN and Ecanvasser suit large campaigns with volunteers who are comfortable on a phone. Paper fits rural districts with poor signal, volunteers who would rather not learn an app, and local races where per-user licenses don't make sense.
SimpleIndex is licensed once and runs on your own computer, so with the local engines the voter data stays in your office. More in our canvassing tips.
Before the first box of surveys
Do volunteers need any software?
No. They fill in paper forms as usual. SimpleIndex runs at headquarters, where the returned surveys are scanned.
How well does it read handwriting?
Neat block printing reads well on your own computer. Hurried handwriting reads best with a cloud engine. Either way, answers it isn't sure of are flagged for a person to confirm.
Does voter data leave our office?
Not with the local engines: mark recognition, FineReader and a vision model on your own hardware all run in your office. Only a cloud engine, if you choose one, sees the page image.
Can it read our own survey form?
Yes. Your form is mapped once and reused for every batch. Send us a sample and we will set it up and show you the result before you buy.
Which edition do I need?
SimpleIndex Professional, which includes mark recognition, FineReader and the AI engines. Mark recognition is also in SimpleIndex OCR.
Is it only for political campaigns?
No. Any paper survey or reply form with check boxes and written answers works the same way: advocacy and nonprofit surveys, member and customer surveys, event feedback.
Try it on your own surveys
Send us a few completed surveys and we will run them through SimpleIndex and show you the results, or request the free trial.
