In GOTV conversations, follow-up moves the needle toward 100% voter participation.
Recent research finds one outreach tactic produces a likely uptick in voter turnout
Rise, in longstanding collaboration with BallotReady and the Innovation/Under-tested Fund, examined the impact of follow-up relational Get Out The Vote (GOTV) conversations on voter turnout in 2022 among young individuals who made plans to vote using BallotReady’s Civic Center platform. The study found that follow-up conversations with GOTV outreach targets leads to a likely increase in youth voter turnout, a remarkable result for a program in a crowded midterm election.
What is the impact of personalized relational engagement on the voting behaviors of young individuals?
In 2020, BallotReady and Rise collaborated on a mobilization effort that reached over 85,000 college students across several states. This effort formed the basis of their subsequent collaboration to delve deeper into the impact of personalized relational engagement on the voting behaviors of young individuals.
Rise and BallotReady’s experiment evaluated the efficacy of follow-up GOTV conversations conducted by Rise organizers on increasing voter turnout among young individuals who had already made plans to vote using BallotReady’s Civic Center. The experiment sought to measure the potential of personalized follow-up communication in bridging gaps in turnout.
Experimental design
The experiment encompassed a randomized cohort of 20,744 individuals, mostly students, from Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, or Pennsylvania. These users had made plans to vote by mid-October 2022 using BallotReady’s “make a plan to vote” feature. The cohort was divided into two groups
Control group: 4,179 individuals who did not receive any follow-up GOTV messages after making a plan to vote.
GOTV follow-up group: 16,565 individuals who received two personalized GOTV conversations initiated by Rise organizers to friends and family via text messages in the three weeks leading up to Election Day. Additionally, an automated text message was dispatched on the day preceding the election itself. Individuals who had already cast their votes were excluded from subsequent rounds of follow-up.
Experimental outcomes
The implementation of follow-up GOTV conversations led to an estimated increase of 0.9 percentage points in youth voter turnout. This growth, particularly noteworthy during a midterm election, underscores the capacity of follow-up GOTV conversations in conjunction with clear voting plan information to foster positive impact.
Notably, the follow-up messages appeared to be more effective among individuals who did not vote in the 2018 midterm elections, compared to those who did. Additionally, individuals who voted in the 2020 presidential election but not the 2018 midterm seemed particularly responsive to the follow-up communications. This finding suggests a promising strategy for targeting potential drop-off voters.
Rise and BallotReady are now both gearing up to expand this model, with a goal of reaching 1 million voters in 2024. To support Rise’s work or partner with BallotReady, visit risefree.org or organizations.ballotready.org.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the increase in voter turnout among recipients of follow-up text messages was “statistically significant.” This is not true and the article has been updated to accurately reflect the results the study.