From Rights to Votes: Understanding Political Knowledge and Mobilization Via Text Messaging Among System-Impacted Groups

最近废除剥夺选举权制度的努力有可能大大扩大选举资格。然而，即使在允许有犯罪记录的个人投票的州，投票率也非常低，通常只有个位数。有关资格的错误信息、缺乏知识和缺乏兴趣都被认为会阻止有记录的个人投票，从而导致更不平等的政治制度。这些障碍是有据可查的；然而，目前尚不清楚它们如何影响选举前几周的投票动机和挑战，也不清楚可扩展和适应性干预措施是否能解决投票障碍。这项研究使用短信来调查受体制影响的个人在2022年11月大选前几周对投票的看法、经历和信念。此外，通过随机对照试验（RCT），该项目测试了短信干预是否可以解决错误信息，并提高受系统影响个人的选举参与度。在随机对照试验中，利用“适应性”干预框架的二次随机化旨在确定最有效的干预设计，以解决选举前几周投票行为的异质性。在这些目标中，该项目研究了人口统计（年龄、种族/民族、性别）、刑事司法接触的程度以及作为受系统影响的组成部分的自我认同的强度如何调节干预措施的动机、挑战和有效性。这项研究的结果将提供有关鼓励和抑制选举参与的因素的知识。调查结果还将为大规模动员干预措施提供具体的、可操作的见解，以提高受制度影响群体的登记和投票率。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Recent efforts to dismantle disenfranchisement regimes have the potential to substantially expand electoral eligibility. Yet, even in states that allow individuals with criminal records to vote, voting rates are very low, often in the single digits. Misinformation about eligibility, lack of knowledge, and lack of interest are all thought to prevent individuals with records from voting, resulting in a more unequal political system. These barriers are well documented; however, it is unclear how they influence motivations and challenges to vote in the weeks leading up to an election, and it is unclear whether scalable and adaptive interventions can address barriers to voting. This research uses text messaging to survey system-impacted individuals about their perspectives, experiences, and beliefs about voting in the weeks leading up to the November 2022 election. In addition, using a randomized controlled trial (RCT), the project tests whether text messaging interventions can address misinformation and issue salience to increase electoral participation among system-impacted individuals. Within the RCT, a secondary randomization utilizing an “adaptive” intervention framework aims to identify the most effective design of interventions for addressing heterogeneity in voting behavior in the weeks leading up to the election. Across these aims, the project examines how demographics (age, race/ethnicity, gender), the extent of criminal justice contact, and strength of self-identification as a system-impacted constituent moderate motivations, challenges, and the effectiveness of interventions. Findings from this research will provide knowledge about the factors that encourage and inhibit electoral participation. Findings will also provide concrete, actionable insights about large-scale mobilization interventions to increase registration and voting rates among system-impacted groups.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.