Putting the Party Back into Politics: An Experiment Testing Whether Election Day Festivals Increase Voter Turnout

Last registered on August 14, 2016
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Putting the Party Back into Politics: An Experiment Testing Whether Election Day Festivals Increase Voter Turnout
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0001459
Initial registration date
August 14, 2016

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
August 14, 2016, 8:47 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region
North America

Primary Investigator

Name
Donald Green
Affiliation
Columbia University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
James M. Glaser
PI Affiliation
Tufts University
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Elizabeth M. Addonizio
PI Affiliation
Yale University

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2005-01-01
End date
2006-12-31
Keywords
Electoral
Additional Keywords
Field Experiments, Randomization, GOTV, Voter Turnout, Voter Mobilization
JEL code(s)
C93
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This essay describes a series of pilot studies designed to shed light on the question of whether the festive, social environment surrounding old-fashioned elections be recreated in ways that increase voter turnout. During 2005 and 2006, we conducted randomized experiments in local sites around the country. Results suggest that social gatherings address the collective action problem often attributed to elections as well as represent a potentially valuable voter mobilization tactic.
External Link(s)
J-PAL Evaluation Summary

Registration Citation

Citation
Addonizio, Elizabeth M., James M. Glaser and Donald Green. 2016. "Putting the Party Back into Politics: An Experiment Testing Whether Election Day Festivals Increase Voter Turnout." AEA RCT Registry. August 14. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.1459-1.0
Former Citation
Addonizio, Elizabeth M., James M. Glaser and Donald Green. 2016. "Putting the Party Back into Politics: An Experiment Testing Whether Election Day Festivals Increase Voter Turnout." AEA RCT Registry. August 14. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/1459/history/10140
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Researchers chose 38 voting precincts with upcoming municipal, state or federal elections. Of the selected precincts, 16 were assigned to treatment and the rest to control. In treatment precincts, researchers supported community organizations to host non-partisan festivals outside of the polling center on Election Day. In the week leading up to the elections, the festivals were advertised through local newspapers, fliers, posters, lawn signs, and pre-recorded phone calls. All festivals were open to the public, family friendly, and featured music and free food. All festivals ran for about four hours in the afternoon. While advertisements described the events as election festivals, attendance was not contingent on voting.
Intervention Start Date
2005-01-01
Intervention End Date
2006-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Voter turnout
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Researchers selected 14 geographic areas across the United States with upcoming local, state, or federal elections in 2005 and 2006. These communities were not randomly selected, but they varied considerably in socioeconomic and ethnic makeup. The elections varied from uncontested municipal primaries to competitive congressional races. From these 14 locations, researchers selected 38 voting precincts with an active community organization able to advertise and organize a festival for Election Day. Researchers randomly assigned each precinct to either receive an election festival or to a control group where no festival occurred.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
In office by computer.
Randomization Unit
Voting precinct were assigned within blocks (sites)
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Study not clustered
Sample size: planned number of observations
38 voting precincts
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Treatment: 16 voting precincts
Control: 22 voting precincts
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
December 31, 2006, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
December 31, 2006, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
Study is not clustered
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
38 voting precincts
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
Treatment: 16 voting precincts Control: 22 voting precincts
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Abstract
PUTTING THE PARTY BACK INTO POLITICS: AN EXPERIMENT TESTING WHETHER ELECTION DAY FESTIVALS INCREASE VOTER TURNOUT

Abstract: This essay describes a series of pilot studies designed to shed light on the question of whether the festive, social environment surrounding old-fashioned elections be recreated in ways that increase voter turnout. During 2005 and 2006, we conducted randomized experiments in 14 geographic areas. Results suggest that social gatherings address the collective action problem often attributed to elections as well as represent a potentially valuable voter mobilization tactic.
Citation
Addonizio, Elizabeth M., Donald P. Green, and James M. Glaser. 2007. "Putting the Party Back into Politics: An Experiment Testing Whether Election Day Festivals Increase Voter Turnout." Political Science Politics 40: 721-727.
URL
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1325270

Reports & Other Materials