Ballot Secrecy Concerns and Voter Mobilization: New Experimental Evidence About Message Source, Context, and the Duration of Mobilization Effects

Recent research finds that doubts about the integrity of the secret ballot as an institution persist among the American public. We build on this finding by providing novel field experimental evidence about how information about ballot secrecy protections can increase turnout among registered voters who had not previously voted. First, we show that a private group’s mailing designed to address secrecy concerns modestly increased turnout in the highly contested 2012 Wisconsin gubernatorial recall election. Second, we exploit this and an earlier field experiment conducted in Connecticut during the 2010 congressional midterm election season to identify the persistent effects of such messages from both governmental and non-governmental sources. Together, these results provide new evidence about how message source and campaign context affect efforts to mobilize previous non-voters by addressing secrecy concerns, as well as show that attempting to address these beliefs increases long-term participation.

现有研究表明，美国民众对作为一项制度的无记名投票（secret ballot）的完整性仍存疑虑。本研究以此结论为基础，通过提供新颖的实地实验（field experiment）证据，揭示了投票保密保护措施相关信息如何提升此前未参与投票的登记选民的投票率（turnout）。其一，研究显示，某私人团体为消除民众对投票保密的疑虑而寄送的宣传邮件，在竞争激烈的2012年威斯康星州州长罢免选举中，小幅提升了选民投票率。其二，本研究结合本次实验与2010年国会中期选举期间在康涅狄格州开展的早期实地实验，识别了来自政府与非政府渠道的此类宣传信息所产生的持续影响。综上，上述研究结果为揭示宣传来源与竞选背景如何通过打消民众对投票保密的疑虑，进而动员此前未参与投票的选民提供了新的实证依据，同时也证明，针对此类错误认知的引导能够提升选民的长期参与度。