In addition to evaluating the efficacy of different engagement tactics and communication methods, the SDAN team also looks into trends within:
Voter Behavior
Voter, Volunteer, Fundraising Messaging
Volunteer & Field Activities Research
Additional information about our research is available in our Whitepapers.
Interested in hearing more from our SDAN team or learning more about grassroots organizing? Check out Sister District’s Instagram during the election cycle!
Dr. Mallory Roman breaks down the latest political trends and research updates on “Mondays with Mallory.”
Catch “State Bridges Live,” where SDAN Program Associate Ore Obiwumi connects Sister District partners and grassroots groups throughout the country to discuss what they are seeing on the ground while working in their local communities.
The Press Library includes features in national media outlets, Op-Eds, podcasts, statements, and more.
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.
This study explored whether chasing requested absentee ballots with a text message reminder to return them could increase voter turnout in Georgia.
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
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.
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
This study sought to determine if voter turnout among low-to-mid turnout propensity, high support voters could be improved by sending a GOTV/voter education postcard to voters ahead of each of the 2020 state and presidential primaries in Florida, Georgia, and Minnesota.
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.
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.
This pilot study explored whether showing volunteers an educational video about the relative value of various volunteer activities could move them “up the ladder of engagement” to more high stakes volunteer activities.
Sister District Action Network (SDAN) ran this study to explore the efficacy of friendraising, or leveraging personal relationships to raise money for candidates, by comparing two different email message frames, as well as comparing the efficacy of friendraising emails to the efficacy of traditional candidate fundraising emails sent from Sister District Project HQ.
How has the coronavirus pandemic affected grassroots volunteering? Our new research finds out.
We conducted a mixed methods pilot study to determine if appealing to friends and family via email is a viable fundraising strategy, and if spelling out a specific fundraising goal is more effective in increasing the donation amount than using a general fundraising goal.
On August 1st, the New York Times published an opinion piece suggesting that progressive grassroots organizations that popped up post-2016 aren’t materially different from digital
This analysis looks at a number of battleground state legislative chambers to determine how many votes Democrats would have needed in 2020 to gain a legislative majority in the districts that decided the majority.
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.
Social norms are rules about ways of thinking and behaving that are deemed socially acceptable by one’s society. Read more about the different types of social pressures.
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.
None of the state chambers targeted by Democrats flipped in 2020. As in any complex system, many factors likely contributed to these results. Let’s take
This analysis was a correlational study using archival data that sought to determine if the state-wide election results for President, Governor, and/or U.S. Senate flipping from one party to another could serve as a reliable antecedent to, 1) state legislative chambers subsequently flipping to that same party, and/or 2) the state becoming a trifecta for that party.
This analysis explores ‘surge and decline’, at the state legislative level. Surge and decline is a phenomenon where members of the president’s party tend to win seats in congress in the year the president is elected, but tend to lose seats in midterm congressional years.
Downballot roll-off is a phenomenon where people vote for top-of-ticket candidates but then do not vote for downballot offices like state legislature.
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)
Bottom line: Traditionally, methods using live conversation (e.g., canvassing and phonebanking) are more effective than other methods of voter outreach.
Bottom line: Canvassing has traditionally been known as the most effective form of voter contact because of the opportunity for face-to-face, two-way communication.
Bottom line: If canvassing is not an option, phonebanking has traditionally been the next best thing.
Bottom line: The effectiveness of textbanking needs more research. There’s evidence that text messaging has small effects on voter turnout and voter registration.
Bottom line: The effectiveness of handwritten communications like postcarding and letter writing needs more research. There’s evidence that both have small effects on voter turnout and that postcarding has a small effect on voter registration.
Bottom Line: Direct contact with volunteers results in more participation.
Bottom line: Relational organizing is the most impactful tactic that individuals can use to influence elections.
Bottom line: Social pressure is highly effective and social pressure mail has been shown to be more effective than regular direct mail.
SDAN’s white papers are meant to provide enough detail about our studies to allow others to completely understand our findings and replicate our methods. These white papers provide more rationale behind the studies, as well as more detail about methods and analyses employed, compared to our blogs and short reports. They are perfect for fellow scientists and number crunchers, as well as anyone who is curious about learning more about what went into a particular study. White papers are published as they are available.
An American Melting Pot? Describing the constituencies of state legislative Democrats and Republicans in the US
Gaby Goldstein, JD, PhD
Mallory Roman, PhD
Call (or text) your girlfriend: Personal contact increases volunteer RSVP and attendance rates
Gaby Goldstein, JD, PhD
Mallory Roman, PhD
Location, Location, Location: Does postcard postmark location matter for voter turnout?
Gaby Goldstein, JD, PhD
Mallory Roman, PhD
Call (or text) your girlfriend: Personal contact to confirm intention to attend increases volunteer attendance rates
Gaby Goldstein, JD, PhD
Mallory Roman, PhD
| Study | Election/ Year Conducted | Date Reported (Blog) | Type of Study | Area of Study (e.g. VR) | Partner | Short Report link | Blog link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voter Registration prime and chase with VPC | 2018 | 8/16/2018 | RCT | Voter registration | Voter Participation Center | Link | Blog |
| Voter Registration chase replication with VPC | 2018 | 08/23/2019 | RCT | Voter registration | Voter Participation Center | Link | Blog |
| GOTV postcards | 2018 | 08/27/2019 | RCT | Voter engagement | ½ VPC; ½ campaign | Link | Blog |
| VR Voting pipeline | 2018 | 8/27/2019 | Analysis | Voter registration | Voter Participation Center | Link | Blog |
| Relational voter turnout on FB | 2018 | 02/19/2020 | RCT | Voter engagement | Virginia Tech University | Link | Blog |
| Recruitment volunteer engagement pilot | 2018 | N/A | RCT | Volunteer engagement | Virginia Tech University | ||
| Confirmation volunteer engagement pilot | 2018 | N/A | RCT | Volunteer engagement | Virginia Tech University | ||
| Recruitment volunteer engagement study | 2018 | 05/07/2019 | RCT | Volunteer engagement | Virginia Tech University | Link | Blog |
| Confirmation volunteer engagement study | 2018 | 05/07/2019 | RCT | Volunteer engagement | Virginia Tech University | Link | Blog |
| Ladder of engagement pilot study | 2019 | 01/05/2021 | Pseudo-experiment | Volunteer engagement | Link | Blog | |
| SD 2019 volunteer survey | 2019 | 06/07/2019 | Survey | Volunteer engagement | Link | Blog | |
| GOTV texting with NAACP | 2019 | 9/25/2020 | RCT | Voter engagement | MS NAACP | Link | Blog |
| Phonebank/canvass postcard chase pilot | 2019 | 01/04/2021 | RCT | Voter engagement | Link | Blog | |
| 3 wave educational postcards | 2019 | 1/21/2021 | RCT | Voter engagement | Link | Blog | |
| Friendraising pilot | 2019 | 8/27/2019 | Pseudo-experiment | Volunteer engagement | Link | Blog | |
| SD 2020 volunteer survey | 2020 | 09/18/2020 | Survey | Volunteer engagement | Link | Blog | |
| Friendraising full study | 2020 | 10/21/2020 | Pseudo-experiment | Volunteer engagement | Link | Blog | |
| Postcards and letters head to head | 2020 | 10/1/2020 | RCT | Voter registration | Voter Participation Center | Link | Blog |
| Postcard postmark | 2020 | 06/15/2020 | RCT | Voter engagement | Link | Blog | |
| Two primaries postcards | 2020 | 2/11/2021 | RCT | Voter engagement | Link | Blog | |
| Two primaries substudy | 2020 | 5/28/2021 | RCT | Voter engagement | Link | Blog | |
| Covid-19 voting survey with U of M | 2020 | 10/28/2020 | RCT/survey (intervention ineffective) | Voter engagement | University of Michigan | N/A | Blog |
| Phonebank/canvass chaser postcard full study | 2020 | 5/14/2021 | RCT | Voter engagement | Link | Blog | |
| 2020 primary study downstream analysis | 2020 | 5/27/2021 | Analysis | Voter engagement | Link | Blog | |
| Mobilize + personal text study | 2021 | 05/18/2021 | RCT | Volunteer engagement | Link | Blog | |
| GA VBM Text Chase | 2020 | 06/15/2021 | RCT | Voter engagement | Link | Blog |
Sister District Action Network (SDAN) inspires and empowers legislators, organizations, volunteers, and voters through civic education, rigorous research, policy analysis, and strategic convenings to engage deeply in state legislative issues.
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Sister District Project
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