A Collaborative Study of Voter Engagement in California

We hypothesize that relational organizing works through its impact on social networks. For that reason, our research contains multiple research arms:

1. We will be conducting a social network survey in November 2018 to test the effect voter contact has on individuals’ networks. The dependent variables are: the size of their networks; the partisan composition of their networks; the impact of their network structures on voter engagement; and the degree of spillover among network members.
2. We are testing the network hypothesis with an experiment using the VoterCircle outreach platform in California’s Central Valley. The dependent variable is turnout. We will also look at household spillover and spillover among network members.
3. We hypothesize that voters of color require a longer conversation and deeper engagement in order to change their voting patterns. We are conducting two experiments focusing on Latino and Vietnamese voters in Santa Clara county. We will be testing the impact of a more culturally competent script, one that works to educate voters and use that education to move them to vote.
4. We hypothesize that participating as canvassers has a strong impact on canvassers’ sense of political efficacy and on the politicization of their social networks. We are conducting pre-and post-test leadership surveys to test the attitudinal impact. We will also look at network spillover. The dependent variables are change between time 1 and time 2; turnout among canvassers and network/HH members
5. We hypothesize that our partner groups’ supporters will be more responsive to their mobilization message. We will use propensity score matching after the election to test how supporter status, vote propensity, geography, and demographics affected voters’ responsiveness to outreach. Dependent variable is turnout.