Research news: How social pressure increases voter turnout

The News:
How Social Pressure Increases Voter Turnout: Evidence From A Large-scale Field Experiment
ScienceDaily (Mar. 14, 2008) — New research by political scientists concludes that direct mail campaigns which include a social pressure aspect are more effective at increasing voter turnout and are cheaper than other forms of voter mobilization, including door-to-door or telephone canvassing.

Prior to the August 2006 primary election in Michigan, the researchers sent out one of four various mailings to 80,000 households encouraging them to vote--with gradually increasing levels of social pressure. The first mailing reminded voters that voting is a civic duty. The second mailing informed the voters that researchers would study their turnout based on public records. The third mailing listed a record of voter turnout among those in the household. The fourth mailing displayed both the neighborhood and household voter turnout. The third and fourth mailings also suggested that there would be a follow-up letter after the upcoming election, reporting on their household or neighborhood voter turnout. Read on...

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the American Political Science Review.