Get Out the Vote: How to Increase Voter Turnout

Rating:
Summary: For anyone striving to mobilize voters
Review: Also available in a hardcover edition, Get Out The Vote!: How To Increase Voter Turnout is a no-nonsense guide for anyone striving to mobilize voters. Written by two professors of political science and experts on political campaigns, elections, and research methodology, Get Out The Vote! covers such motivating means as door-to-door canvassing, leaflets, direct mail, phone banks, electronic mail, and more. Written to be as useful for non-specialist general readers striving to motivate a grass-roots political campaign as well as a seminal instruction guide to political experts planning to win a large-scale race, Get Out The Vote! offers a wealth of solid, easy-to-understand wisdom straight from the horse's mouth.

Rating:
Summary: The first real measurement of what works in GOTV
Review: Donald Green and Alan Gerber have done something that political professionals have failed to do. They have actually measured what works and does not work in GOTV. The results are sobering, enlightening and, above all, invaluable to any campaign manager who wants to get the most from his campaign dollars.

Rating:
Summary: The first real measurement of what works in GOTV
Review: Donald Green and Alan Gerber have done something that political professionals have failed to do. They have actually measured what works and does not work in GOTV. The results are sobering, enlightening and, above all, invaluable to any campaign manager who wants to get the most from his campaign dollars.

Rating:
Summary: Getting People to the Polls Takes Effort
Review: Surprising conclusions...except, not really.

It is good that some of this stuff has worked out, but a lot of it could be articulated by most people who spend time on GOTV. Political contact works better the more it is like a face-to-face conversation about information relevant to the person's life.

Hence, door-to-door canvassing is the most effective. Not surprising.

Phones come in second. Not surprising.

The more conversational and informational the phone call is, the more effective is. Still not surprising.

But this book is also a somewhat daunting reminder of just how difficult a good GOTV effort is. Virtually every one of their models pans out to about one additional voter for every hour of voter contact. Boy am I looking forward to next weekend.