Get-Out-the-Vote Drives

MOBILIZING PARTICIPATION IN the principal democratic act of voting is a primary concern in most campaign strategies. Traditionally, these “get-out-the-vote” (GOTV) drives relied upon such tactics as door-to-door canvassing, distributing literature, posting signs, providing transportation to polling places, and telephoning potential voters in the days leading up to an election.

However, the mobilization tactics employed in GOTV campaigns have shifted in the last half-century, especially in the United States, as the growing importance of mass-media dramatically altered the way parties and candidates run their campaigns and reach target their audiences. There are three types of GOTV campaigns: private nonpartisan; structural or government-sponsored; and partisan or issue-oriented.

Voter turnout in U.S. presidential elections has generally hovered around 55 percent of the voting age population for the last 40 years, and, except for the upswings in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, turnout is generally declining. For those who believe that all voices must be heard in a democracy for it to be truly representative, the recent trend of declining voter turnout rates in the United States and many other established democracies is troubling.

Some countries address low voter turnout by outlawing it; mandatory or, compulsory voting in such countries as Australia, Belgium, Peru and Austria keep voter turnout rates high. But in countries such as the United States, where voting remains optional, nonpartisan and government-sponsored GOTV programs have sprung up, aimed at increasing the total voter turnout.

One such nonpartisan GOTV organization is the League of Women Voters (LWV), which believes that through advocating and educating the public on major public policy issues, voters will become more informed, more interested, and therefore, more likely to vote. The LWV is best known for the voter education guides they publish and distribute with detailed information about candidates, referenda, voting laws, polling precinct information, and casting absentee ballots. A similar service is provided by the nonpartisan Project Vote-Smart, whose website contains biographical histories, issue positions, voting records, campaign finances and promises, and performance evaluations of elected officials and candidates.

Nonpartisan organizations can also aim their GOTV efforts at a specific group, perhaps because that particular group has been less likely to vote and, therefore, is underrepresented by government officials. It is also believed that increasing turnout among those who are less likely to vote will bring greater equality and legitimacy to government. For example, groups such as the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and the National Coalition for the Homeless have each targeted specific groups. Even professional wrestling has gotten into voter mobilization with a campaign called Smack-down Your Vote.

In 2004, a group called the New Voters Project (NVP) ran the nation's largest nonpartisan youth voter mobilization campaign in a presidential election, registering over a half million 18- to 30-year-olds to vote, and making personalized voter reminders before the polls closed. The organization's research found that in Iowa, young people contacted by the NVP turned out at a rate 13 percent higher than a group of demograph-ically similar individuals.

Other campaigns such as HeadCount, Rock the Vote, and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network use the visibility of popular musicians to target young music fans by contacting them at festivals and concerts and registering them to vote. Getting individuals registered to vote may increase the likelihood that they will vote; however, it does not guarantee it.

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