Values-matched messaging: Are postcards with values-matched messaging effective?
This study tested whether voter turnout increased after voters received a handwritten postcard featuring ‘values-matched messaging,’ such that they highlighted policy votes that their state legislative representatives made in opposition to the voters’ modeled policy positions.
Building Bridges: State Bridges email fundraising test
This pseudo-experiment looked at the effect of two different email fundraising messages using either policy or values framing on fundraising conversion rates and donation amounts.
An American Melting Pot? Describing the constituencies of state legislative Democrats and Republicans in the United States
This archival study sought to determine if certain constituent demographics in state legislative districts were associated with higher levels of Democratic state legislative representation (compared to Republican representation)
“Identity politics”: Activating identity to gain political power
In this blog we will discuss the social psychological underpinnings of identity, and how appeals to identity are used in a variety of political contexts.
Vote by Mail Ballot Chase: Do reminder text messages increase voter turnout?
This study explored whether chasing requested absentee ballots with a text message reminder to return them could increase voter turnout in Georgia.
Blue wave[s] substudy: Does receiving a third card help reactivate turnout effects ahead of the general election?
Abstract: In 2020, SDAN ran a Two Primaries Postcard Study, which was a randomized controlled trial that found that primary voter turnout among voters with low-mid turnout propensity for presidential primaries (turnout scores of 25-60) and high Democratic support scores (partisanship scores of 80+) could be improved by sending such voters a handwritten GOTV/voter education […]
Downstream analysis of primary postcard studies: Does getting GOTV postcards before the primary increase general election voter turnout?
This analysis explores the general election voting behavior of voters who SDAN sent GOTV postcards to ahead of the 2020 primaries, to determine if the increase in voter turnout we observed in those studies traveled downstream to increase turnout among those voters in the November 2020 general election.
Persuasive politics: Cialdini’s principles of persuasion at work
Social psychology, and the work of Dr. Robert Cialdini and colleagues in particular, has had an outsized influence on modern-day political strategies. Here, we review the principles and talk about how they are used in politics.
You don’t have to tell me twice: Additional text message reminders for confirming volunteer attendance for Mobilize event
This study tested the efficacy of sending an additional personal text message reminder to volunteers who have RSVP’d for an event in boosting event turnout.
The skill of the chase 2: Do chaser postcards help to amplify the utility of an earlier voter contact?
Abstract: This study tested the efficacy of postcards that follow up on a successful voter contact made by a campaign in increasing voter turnout. Six state legislative campaigns in 4 states provided SDAN with a list of people that they had successfully contacted and identified as supporters through phonebanking or canvassing. A randomly chosen half […]