The effects of canvassing, telephone calls, and direct mail on voter turnout: A field experiment

AS Gerber, DP Green�- American political science review, 2000 - cambridge.org
American political science review, 2000cambridge.org
We report the results of a randomized field experiment involving approximately 30,000
registered voters in New Haven, Connecticut. Nonpartisan get-out-the-vote messages were
conveyed through personal canvassing, direct mail, and telephone calls shortly before the
November 1998 election. A variety of substantive messages were used. Voter turnout was
increased substantially by personal canvassing, slightly by direct mail, and not at all by
telephone calls. These findings support our hypothesis that the long-term retrenchment in�…
We report the results of a randomized field experiment involving approximately 30,000 registered voters in New Haven, Connecticut. Nonpartisan get-out-the-vote messages were conveyed through personal canvassing, direct mail, and telephone calls shortly before the November 1998 election. A variety of substantive messages were used. Voter turnout was increased substantially by personal canvassing, slightly by direct mail, and not at all by telephone calls. These findings support our hypothesis that the long-term retrenchment in voter turnout is partly attributable to the decline in face-to-face political mobilization.
Cambridge University Press