Do Political Party Voter Contact & GOTV Efforts Increase Voter Turnout?

Author

• Cody Gunsalus

Date of Award

4-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Political Science

First Advisor

Patrick Donnay

Abstract

While the disconnect between potential voters and those who represent them has grown, parties have spent billions of dollars and millions of hours on voter contact. My question is how effective is pre-election voter contact in increasing voter turnout? What party is most effective at voter turnout? Does the impact of voter contact differ based on education? Is it more effective depending upon age or gender? And how has it changed over time? To address these questions, I analyze National Election Studies (NES) data. The NES has surveyed the national electorate in every national election since 1948. Preliminary analysis has resulted in, “yes” contact does increase voter turnout. The data also shows that voter contact has more impact with the less educated. There is not a strong difference by gender. Those under 50 are more likely to vote if contacted. As pre-election canvasing has increased since the 1950’s, there is still a large percentage of the electorate who is not contacted by either political party. There is still more that can be done to increase voter turnout.

Recommended Citation

Gunsalus, Cody, "Do Political Party Voter Contact & GOTV Efforts Increase Voter Turnout?" (2025). Political Science Theses and Capstones. 136.
https://pines.bemidjistate.edu/capstone-polisci/136