Get Out the Vote

Donald P. Green is J.W. Burgess Professor of Political Science at Columbia University. Alan S. Gerber is Sterling Professor of Political Science at Yale University and Director of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies. Both authors are pioneers in the experimental study of voter turnout and have written widely on public opinion and elections.

• Preface1. Introduction: Why Voter Mobilization Matters2. Evidence versus Received Wisdom3. Door-to-Door Canvassing4. Leaflets and Signage5. Direct Mail6. Commercial Phone Banks, Volunteer Phone Banks, and Robocalls7. Electronic Mail, Social Media, and Text Messaging8. Using Events to Draw Voters to the Polls9. Using Mass Media to Mobilize Voters10. Voter Registration and Voter Turnout11. Strategies for Effective Messaging12. What Works, What Doesn’t, and What’s NextAppendixesA Meta-Analysis of Door-to-Door Canvassing ExperimentsB Meta-Analysis of Direct Mail ExperimentsC Meta-Analysis of Phone-Call ExperimentsNotesIndexAbout the Authors

Green and Gerber are pioneers in the use of experimental design to investigate voter turnout. When the first edition of Get Out the Vote came out 20 years ago, it stood alone in the field of political campaigning for both focusing on get out the vote (GOTV) and basing its recommendations on scientific evidence. The fifth edition incorporates the breadth of similar research that has been conducted in the intervening years. In particular, it includes new ways organizers use technology and new findings on relational organizing. Previously, campaigns relied heavily on generic mailings and prerecorded phone messages to increase turnout; however, the evidence indicates mass appeals are ineffective. Rather, a personal interaction with an acquaintance is much more likely to prompt voters to go to the polls. The book carefully lays out the research leading to that conclusion, and in the process it illustrates how experiments can be conducted in the field to verify the effectiveness of new GOTV techniques. This book provides essential background for students and practitioners of political campaigning. Essential. General readers through faculty; professionals.