What Do Voters Need to Know

Testing the Role of Cognitive Information in Asian American Voter Mobilization

Bibliographic Data

ID6180169
AuthorsLisa Garcia Bedolla (0000-0003-4804-9746, University of California, Berkeley, corresponding author), Melissa R Michelson (0000-0002-8533-7926, California State University, East Bay)
Year2009
Volume37
Issue2
Pages254-274
Publication date2009-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Politics Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1532-673X • E-ISSN: 1552-3373
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1532673x08320844
OpenAlexW2106766248
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited21

Previous field experiments have found that indirect methods, particularly direct mail, are not effective in increasing voter turnout. Most of the mail used in these experiments provided procedural information regarding voting and a message encouraging the voter to turn out. Yet, in his review of efforts to increase voting, Berinsky (2005) concluded that it was the cognitive costs of voting—the effort needed to formulate political opinions—that constituted the greatest barrier to voter turnout. This suggests it may be important to consider the type of information being provided when examining direct mail efforts. To test this proposition, we present evidence from field experiments conducted by two Asian-American—serving community organizations during the June and November 2006 elections. We find that the type of information provided does not increase direct mail's effectiveness. Yet unlike previous experiments, we find that phonebanking does have a statistically significant, positive effect on Asian American voter turnout

Advertising · Business · Direct mail · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Turnout · Voter turnout · Voting · Voting behavior · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Media Influence and Politics · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub