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幅扩大选举资格。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，往往只有个位数。关于资格的错误信息、缺乏知识和缺乏兴趣都被认为是阻止有记录的个人投票的原因，导致政治制度更加不平等。这些障碍得到了很好的记录；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是否能够解决投票障碍。这项研究使用短信调查受系统影响的个人，了解他们在2022年11月大选前的几周内对投票的看法、经历和信念。此外，使用随机对照试验(RCT)，该项目测试短信干预是否可以解决错误信息和突出问题，以增加受系统影响的个人的选举参与。在随机对照研究中，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问题。通过这些目标，该项目审查了人口结构(年龄、种族/族裔、性别)、刑事司法联系的程度和作为一个系统的自我认同的强度如何影响到适度的动机、挑战和干预措施的有效性。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。调查结果还将提供关于大规模动员干预措施的具体、可操作的见解，以提高受系统影响的群体的注册率和投票率。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.